(vasep.com.vn) The price of raw pangasius are increasing to VND22,000 – 23,000 per kilogram after a month of standing at around VND20,000 per kilogram. Rise in fish price may lead to higher price of pangasius fingerlings that encourages fish hatcheries to produce more fingerlings for commercial fish farming in the first months of 2013.
In early August 2012, raw pangasius price starts to increase though the government is still considering preferential interest rate loans of VND9,000 billion to help the industry. As usual in these months, fish processors intensify purchasing raw pangasius for processing to satisfy global demands in year’s end holidays. However, they are lack of capital for buying fish and for producing. Processors expect that VND9,000 billion package would be approved by the government soon.
With the credit source, they have enough money to purchase raw fish for doing contracts. Farmers also have enough money to keep fish restocking. To 20th June 2012, Mekong Delta harvested 533,352 MT of pangasius on the total area of 2,001 hectares. The average productivity reached 265.2 MT/ha. Other 4,541 hectares of fish farming is still not in harvest. In which, 1,000 hectares of are expected to be harvested in July – August, providing nearly 250,000 – 300,000 MT. In the last months of the year, 700,000 MT of fish will be harvested from 2,600 hectares. Pangasius companies are expected to get enough of raw fish for processing until the end of 2012.
To the middle of June 2012, Mekong Delta estimated to produce about 1.5 billion of fingerlings, satisfying commercial fish breeding activities in the whole region. In late 2011 and early 2012, fish farmers faced the lack of fish fingerlings and 50 – 70 percent rise in fish fingerling price.