Unstable commercial clam output

(Baonghean) - In recent years, clam farming has become a "hot" profession for coastal residents in Quynh Luu district, because it brings high economic efficiency. However, currently, the selling price of commercial clams is falling sharply, the consumption market is facing many difficulties. People develop clam farming massively, spontaneously, without planning, it will be difficult to avoid bad consequences...

These days, when visiting Son Hai, Quynh Thuan, Quynh Tho, An Hoa communes (Quynh Luu), we hear complaints from clam farmers. The price of clam meat has dropped to the lowest level ever, causing many households to suffer. A clam farmer in the tidal area of ​​Quynh Thuan commune said: In previous years, clam farming brought quite high income, so many families contracted with the commune to invest in clam farming along the tidal area. Many households with economic potential also invested in clam farming in Son Hai and An Hoa communes... For each hectare of clam farming, people have to invest about 400 million VND (for seeds, stakes, nets, care, etc.), after 16-18 months, they can start harvesting. At the selling price last year, 1 hectare yielded 15-20 tons, earning about 800 million VND, after deducting all expenses, the profit was more than 200 million VND. This year, the price of clam meat has dropped sharply, so farmers are currently suffering a loss of about 300-400 million VND/ha".

Recalling the time when clams were introduced to the area, Mr. Nguyen Truong Son - an agricultural land officer of Quynh Tho commune shared: “The change in the lives of Quynh Tho people was inspired when clams became a specialty favored by the market, bringing high economic value. From there, people came up with the idea of ​​raising clams in coastal alluvial flats. Grasping the wishes of the people in a timely manner, the commune has had a policy to encourage the development of clam farming, such as planning farming areas, creating openness in mechanisms and policies and ensuring security and order for people who take on contracts in tidal flat areas. Currently, Quynh Tho has more than 20 hectares of commercial clam farming, with the participation of 17 households; the average yield is 20 tons/ha, generating tens of billions of VND each year and creating regular jobs for hundreds of local workers...”.

Mr. Thai Ba Khang - Chairman of the Quynh Tho - Son Hai Aquaculture Association, a pioneer in building a clam seed production model, said: When the clam farming area is expanded, people are also facing the problem of seed shortage. The source of natural clam seeds is increasingly depleted, and farmers have to buy seeds from Ben Tre and Soc Trang provinces through intermediate breeding stages of farms in Thai Binh and Nam Dinh.

Due to the long distance and many transportation steps, the price of clam seeds is pushed up, depending on the instability of traders. Due to the long distance transportation, many died when released for farming, affecting productivity as well as product quality". In addition to the clam seed farming area of ​​more than 6,000m2, Mr. Khang also raises 4 hectares of commercial clams. Due to falling prices and difficulty in selling, Mr. Khang still cannot estimate how many clams are left under the sand, while the cost of maintaining the lagoon is increasing day by day. In addition to market difficulties, clams are also very susceptible to death if they encounter weather conditions, abnormal changes in water salinity or environmental pollution.

The biggest difficulty in clam farming today is building a link between developing seed sources and organizing product consumption. Mr. Nguyen Van Nam - Head of Hamlet 1, Son Hai Commune, worried: "This year's clam crop, I borrowed money from the bank to invest nearly 3 billion VND to renovate the alluvial land and buy seeds to raise 2 hectares of meat clams. If the price was 25,000 VND/kg like the previous crop, I would have made a profit of 300-400 million VND. However, with the current price: 14,000 VND/kg (67 pieces/kg) and 12,500 VND (73 pieces/kg), I would have suffered a heavy loss. However, the biggest impasse is that no one is asking to buy. Currently, I still have nearly 100 tons of meat clams "soaked" in the sand, which are "blocked" in output. High input costs, high additional costs, if I cannot sell them in time, I can easily go bankrupt"...

Like every year at this time, traders from the North come to buy clams to export to China, specialized vehicles line up to Son Hai to "buy goods". As much clams are exported, that much is purchased. However, this year the Chinese market suddenly closed, traders refused, leading to hundreds of tons of commercial clams remaining on the farming grounds. Mr. Tran Van Hung - Chairman of Son Hai Commune People's Committee said: "The whole commune has 1km of coastline and about 100 hectares of tidal flats with good conditions for clam farming.

In addition to the 50 ha area for households to contract, the commune still has about 30 ha for people to exploit natural clams. For many years, clams have been a highly profitable farming subject, with a profit of 150-200 million VND/ha. This year, clams have both fallen in price and are difficult to sell, currently the amount of over-aged clams remaining under the sand in the whole commune is about 1,000 tons. Clams cannot be sold, while farmers still have to pay for maintenance costs, bank interest rates... Difficulties piled on top of difficulties, in mid-2012, some clam ponds had epidemics, leaving many owners penniless. The reason for the clam stagnation, in addition to the unstable output factor, is partly due to the fact that many households, seeing that clam farming is profitable, rushed to rent land and invest in pond renovation, while many people have not yet mastered the technical process and experience in farming, releasing the seeds at too high a density, causing epidemics and losses...

Model of clam breeding and production in Quynh Tho commune of Mr. Thai Ba Khang
(Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu).

According to the leader of the Department of Agriculture of Quynh Luu district, the total clam farming area of ​​the district is 87 hectares, the natural area of ​​​​impacted farming is 40 hectares, mainly in the communes of Son Hai, Quynh Tho, Quynh Thuan, An Hoa. Depending on the size of the released clams, the farming time is from 15 to 18 months, the average yield is about 20 tons/ha. Production in recent years has shown that clams are very suitable for the living environment of the intertidal zone of Quynh Luu, the survival rate is high, the commercial clams have bright white shells, are plump...

The total annual clam harvest output reaches nearly 2,000 tons; contributing to increasing income for households, while creating jobs for fishermen who are exploiting seafood inefficiently to switch to coastal seafood farming. To effectively exploit the clam farming area in a sustainable manner, the Provincial People's Committee has issued a master plan based on the planning of coastal mangrove forests. By 2015, Quynh Luu will expand the clam farming area to 120 hectares. And to develop sustainable clam farming, the district has coordinated with coastal communes to plan farming areas; provide training on farming techniques; and advise people not to massively expand the area following the trend when seeing clam prices increase...

Although the direction is clear, clam farmers are suffering double losses because they have to accept floating sources of seeds, while the output is unstable. For clam farming to continue to become a spearhead of economic development, it is important that localities find ways to increase export market share, targeting markets that are strict in quality standards but have stable output, and at the same time find ways to develop into new potential markets. In the current difficult conditions, when most people are still passive in production, authorities at all levels need to have policies to support people in terms of techniques and business loan interest rates. In the long term, it is necessary to build a production strategy by planning areas for raising and raising seeds, building brands, connecting with stable markets and linking production with processing.

Ngoc Anh