Farmed shrimp production in the first 9 months of 2010 amounted to 320 MT, up 6.8%, caught shrimp reached 92 MT, up 5%; farmed fish reached 1,526 MT, up 4.5%, caught fish: 1,345 MT, up 4.4% against the same period last year.
September is the last month of farmed shrimp and pangasius harvest. Main shrimp harvest ended, price was high as international demand rose. Processors tried to buy for inventory but it is forecasted that raw materials remained lack to process for export in the last months of 2010.
Pangasius farming area in the Mekong Delta is estimated at 12,000 ha, down 8% over the same period last year, of which the industrial pangasius farming area accounts for about 6,000 ha, roughly the same period of 2009. In the first 9 months of 2010, pangasius production was estimated at 994,000 MT, down 2.4% against the same period last year. Although pangasius production decreased, total aquaculture production still increased significantly due to farmers converted and expanded the aquaculture area in the integrated direction of polyculture and multi-species to enhance economic efficiency and ensure the sustainable ecosystem.
Aquaculture production in the first 9 months of 2010 in some provinces have registered highly such as Quang Ninh (21,030 MT), Hai Phong (36,873 MT), Nam Dinh (40,000 MT), Thanh Hoa (21,320 MT), Nghe An (30,196 MT), Kien Giang (68,515 MT), Soc Trang (71,292 MT), Ca Mau (172,540 MT), Hau Giang (29,770 MT, including 13,140 MT of pangasius), Dong Thap (243,671 MT, including 209,215 MT of pangasius), Ben Tre (132,600 MT, including 86 MT of pangasius), Can Tho (132,368 MT, including 114,580 MT of pangasius).