Over the years, aquaculture has been sustainably developed in Can Tho, a land of criss-crossing canals along the Hau River. It has made a contribution to increasing the average growth rate of exports of aquatic products to 18% a year.

In terms of aquaculture development, Can Tho has always attached much importance to increasing its farming areas and the productivity of two major aquatic species: Tra (catfish) and giant freshwater prawns.

Although the catfish farming area is less than that for other aquatic species, its annual yield is high and brings about considerable export turnover to the city. The intensive catfish production brings the highest economic value with a total income of 6 billion VND/ha and a profit of 610 million VND/ha for each crop.

According to Can Tho’s Fisheries Sub-Department, the area for farming aquatic species is about 2,300ha, including 500ha for intensive catfish production. At present, many aquatic enterprises, namely Can Tho Import-Export Seafood Joint-Stock Company (Caseamex), Viet Foods Company Ltd., the Southern Fishery Industries Company Ltd., (South Vina) and Hiep Thanh Seafood Joint-Stock Company plan to build areas for farming aquatic species to have a stable material resource for their production. They will also expand the farming area in the neighbouring provinces of Vinh Long, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Tra Vinh and Dong Thap.

Nguyen Ngoc Trai, Deputy Director of Hiep Thanh Seafood Joint-Stock Company, said: “The company defines its strategy on maintaining production through stabilizing material resources and product outlets, investing in the construction of self-contained catfish farming areas and ensuring the income of workers.”

Apart from catfish and freshwater prawns, the aquaculture sector in Can Tho targets diversifying aquatic species with a focus on those of high economic value, giving priority to major products of large production areas and expanding farming areas.

Furthermore, many standards, such as BMO, SQF 1000 and Global GAP are applied to the farming areas to improve the quality of products, meet the requirements for food safety and hygiene and increase the value of processed seafood products in foreign markets.

Over the years, this sector has also applied scientific achievements developed by the College of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Can Tho University - one of the country’s leading units doing research in the aquaculture and fisheries field.

With a staff of professional cadres and modern facilities, the college has researched and transferred technology to production, making an important contribution to developing aquaculture in Can Tho in particular and in the Cuu Long River Delta and in the whole country in general.

According to Le Ngoc Dien, Deputy Head of Can Tho City’s Fisheries Sub-Department, after Vietnam was accused of dumping catfish, the enterprises participating in the value chain of this sector started paying much attention to managing the quality of the raw material resources.

Since 2003, the relevant bodies in Can Tho have popularized and guided the farmers and enterprises on raising catfish according to standards of SQF 1000. In the 2005-2006 period, 70ha of the farming areas in Can Tho met the standards of BMP and SQF 1000 while in early 2012 over 135ha met the standards of Global GAP, SQF and BMP.

Vietnam's aquatic product occupies 3.7% of the world's market share and 0.3% of the world's turnover. Its major export markets are Japan, the US and EU with about 60% of the total export value of aquatic products. Besides, Vietnam starts expanding into newly developed markets, namely Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.




Source: VNP