October 8, 2012

Vietnam's Ca Mau province sets shrimp production target

A target to produce 270,000 tonnes of shrimp this year has been set by the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ca Mau, the country's largest shrimp producer.

According to the province's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shrimp output reached nearly 200,000 tonnes in the first eight months of 2012, up 12% against the same period last year.

Ca Mau has nearly 270,000 hectares devoted to shrimp breeding under the extensive farming model. It also has 5,000 hectares of industrial shrimp farming, with an average yield of five tonnes per hectare for black-tiger shrimp and eight tonnes per hectare for white-legged shrimp.

However, farmers are facing several difficulties, including a shortage of baby shrimp, disease outbreaks and hikes in prices for input materials and higher labour costs.

As of May, Ca Mau had about 560 shrimp-fry farms, supplying 7-8 billion shrimp fries a year, meeting only half of farmers' demand.

To help farmers, local authorities have provided training courses on disease prevention and control, and have encouraged shrimp processors to buy shrimp directly from farmers.

The province has also created preferential policies for shrimp-fry farmers, including soft loans and tax reductions. Local authorities target to have 900-1,000 shrimp fry farms by 2015, which are expected to produce 12-13 billion of shrimp fries a year.