This proves the profit from pangasius is very high. Furthermore, it supplies works for thousands of labors in processing factories.

However, the absurdity is that there are 50% households of farming pangasius in Cuu Long Delta have to stop farming because of loss and debt. As a result, it is predicted that at the first quarter of 2010, materials will lack seriously.

Explaining this absurdity, Mr Duong Ngoc Minh, general director of Hung Vuong joint-stock company and the head of board of managing pangasius export to Russia, considers that one reason that made farmers to reduce farming area is that they have no output. After crises of materials, most of factories farms fish themselves or cooperate with farmer to farm. For example, Hung Vuong company can self-produce 80% the demand of 200.000 tonnes/ year. The company just buys materials from outside when lacking. Thus, small, scattered farmers and the one that do not have contracts with factories will not have output warranty and they have to reduce farming area.

One more important reason is that feed price continues increasing when fish price does not increase or even decreases. The price of import materials which are used to produce feed for fish which was from 420-430 USD/ton is not 450 USD/ ton when the price of fish is just 14,800-15.000 VND/kg though it was some time 18.000VND/kg. So, if luckily, households can have some profit but just very low, from 200-300 VND/kg fish. Households of which fish is ill have to suffer loss from 1.000 VND/kg.

Though there is stimulus package of the government for farmers, in fact, farmers are difficult to approach such capital because the recent time, farmers have suffered loss when commercial banks do not accept risks. Thus, banks have to choose customers that have ability to pay debt and have mortgage properties to lend. Mr Kieu Manh Minh, branch director of Tien Giang Bank of agriculture and rural development says : “ the situation of lending farmers to farm fish is similar to lending agricultural manufacture which is short- term lend that not over 12 months. However, we just lend cases that have contract of selling fish for factories. If not, we do not lend because we may cannot recover debts”.

Mr Duong Ngoc Minh considers that the government should have firm and specific policy to support farmers because the profit of pangasius is very large. First of all, we have to scheme the farming area stably and do not let farmers suffer damages due to farming without scheming. This has been raised for a long time but no one has achieved it. Especially, we need the combination between the factories with farmers basing on cooperation and equality. Though this is not easy because farmers do not want to farm outwork for factories due to low profit. Otherwise, when they farm themselves, the output is risky.

Hoang Phuong

Source: Thanh Nien

Translated by Vietfish Community