(pangasius-vietnam.com) So far this year, Tien Giang province totaled 123.3 hectares superficies for pangasius farming, reported Tien Giang’s Sub-department of Fisheries. Pangasius was mainly produced by processing companies and local farmers having supply contract with fish processors.
The provincial pangasius industry sees the quiet trend as fish production and consumption has met many difficulties since early 2013. Commercial selling price was consecutively bellow the production cost. Farmers found hard to sell raw fishes, pushing them into persistent financial trouble and having no money to remain farming, especially small farming households.
Plus, banks only offer loans with term from three to six months while farmers have to wait 6 to 8 eight months to harvest fishes.
So far, the fish farming area in the province was just 77 hectares, lower than 80.8 hectares in the corresponding time of 2012. Fish ponds in production totaled 95 hectares. Up to now, Tien Giang harvested 22,488 MT of fishes, compared to 24,792 MT reported a year ago.
To sustainably develop the provincial fish industry in the coming time, fish farmers are suggested to sign supply contracts with processing companies before stocking fishes and not to farm fish with high density. The government needs to have policies to offer loans with preferential interest rate for medium and long payment term to help farmers keep business.