September 9, 2008

Prices of tra catfish have exceeded VND 16,500 per kg, which would allow farmers to make VND 500 per kg in profits.

Tra catfish prices have been rising steadily in the past week, said Nguyen Ngoc Hai, chairman of Thoi An Aqua-culture Coop in Can Tho City's O Mon District.

Processors have been buying fish directly from farmers and to keep their production lines busy, some processors proposed to pay for the product soon after contracts are signed to make the offer more attractive.

Hai said processors from Mekong provinces of Tien Giang, Ben Tre and Vinh Long travelled to the largest tra breeding areas in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta – An Giang and Can Tho – and offered prices of over VND 17,000 per kg for tra catfish.

However, Hai added, farmers were reluctant to sell in hopes of receiving better offers soon.

Farmers should not hoard mature tra catfish as they cost more to feed, and the fish will lose their value if they are too old, said Duong Quoc Nghia, deputy director of the Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Farmers and processors are bracing for a catfish shortage in the fourth quarter as many farmers have stopped breeding catfish three months ago when purchase dropped to a severe low.

Bui Huu Tri, chairman of the Can Tho Seafood Processing and Export Association, said the city currently has less than 20,000 tonnes of tra catfish in stock, just enough to feed processing lines there in September, while breeding areas have dropped from 1,200 hectares to 500-600 hectares as of late August.

Phan Van Danh, chairman of An Giang Seafood Processors and Exporters Association, said 50 percent of catfish farmers in the province have left the business, meaning that prices will continue to climb in September.

The biggest problem at hand, however, is the short supply of breeding fry, as fry producers left their jobs before catfish farmers could declare bankruptcy, according to Danh.