Mekong Delta farmers begin shrimp harvest

The price of 30-piece-per-kilo size black tiger shrimp, which is bought at ponds by traders, is 245,000-250,000 dongs (US$10.6-10.8) a kilo. 
Nguyen Duy Bao, who rotates growing shrimp and rice in a rice field in Kien Giang Province’s An Minh District, said “At this price, shrimp-rice rotating farmers can earn a profit that is equal to 60-70 per cent of the production cost of shrimp.”
In the early months of this year the weather was not severe as during the same period of last year, so shrimp grew quickly, Bao said.
Farmers in Kien Giang have bred more than 102,000 hectares of shrimp in the first three months of the year, up 11 per cent against the same period last year, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. 
In Ca Mau Province, which is the country’s largest shrimp producer, farmers who began breeding shrimp fries early this year have reaped their harvest. 
Nguyen Van Thoa in Ca Mau Province’s Phu Tan District has sold two ponds of white-legged shrimp after three months of breeding and got a profit of 700 million dongs ($30,400).
Many farmers here have not bred shrimp this year because they were afraid of severe drought, salt water intrusion and poor harvest as last year, Thoa said.
This year, saline water intrusion in the delta occurred late and the salinity has been low so many farmers are waiting for the proper time to release shrimp fries into ponds for breeding.
At present, the weather is hot, causing a high content of PH (potential of hydrogen) in shrimp ponds or rapid growth of algae in shrimp ponds. This could affect the growth of shrimp.
Quach Thi Thanh Binh, deputy head of the Soc Trang Province Aquaculture Sub-department, said farmers should regularly carry out water inspections as well as heed the warning of competent agencies about shrimp diseases in order to choose a proper time to put water into shrimp ponds.