The Tien Giang Province-based Hung Vuong Seafood Co has launched a support scheme for farmers to rescue the local pangasius industry that reached deadlock for the past several months.
The VND500 billion (nearly $24 million) programme envisages Hung Vuong supplying its Viet Thang brand of fish feed on credit to pangasius farmers, who can pay the company once they sell the fish following harvest.
It offers many farmers an economic lifeline after months of financial problems.
Ngo Van Triet, a pangasius farmer in My Luong town in An Giang Province, said the feed supplied by Hung Vuong would help him increase the weight of the fish in his breeder farm from the present 650 grammes to 800-1,000g.
Unable to get cheap loans under Government programmes to buy feed for his fish, Triet had to reduce the size of his farm from over 10ha to just 1ha now.
Ngo Van Them, a pangasius farmer in Can Tho city's Thot Not District, said he too has reduced the size of his farm from 3ha five years ago to just 1ha ha.
Nguyen Van Ky, a member of the Hung Vuong Corp board, said the scheme is aimed at helping farmers who cannot afford feed for their fish, and the two-month credit is interest-free.
But to benefit, farmers must have pangasius farms with each fish weighing at least 500g.
Ky said when the fish grow large (800-1,000g), Hung Vuong would buy them at VND23,000 per kilogramme.
"Farmers can sell their pangasius to other processors, but have to pay 1 per cent interest per month for the feed," Ky said.
Soon after the programme was launched, around 40 farmers have signed up with Hung Vuong Corp, which expects to supply 10,000 tonnes of feed.
"While the scheme would help farmers cut costs, they would be forced to reduce the size of their farms if pangasius prices remain lower than production costs," Nguyen Ngoc Hai, chairman of the Can Tho-based Thoi An Seafood Co-op, told Viet Nam News.