Seafood prices increase on first day of holiday

Grilled squid at Dien Ngoc market (Dien Chau) costs 250,000 VND/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

At Lach Van fishing port (Dien Chau), there are mainly small boats, so although the seafood catch is not much, because fishermen go back and forth during the day, the seafood is still fresh and delicious, not iced like seafood caught for a long time at sea. Especially, during the holidays of April 30 and May 1, fishermen have the opportunity to increase their income, because of strong consumption and increased selling prices.

Squid eggs are in high demand, so the selling price at Lach Van fishing port is from 250,000 - 300,000 VND/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Just arriving at the port, Mr. Phan Trong Tan's boat in Dien Ngoc commune, Dien Chau district only brought back more than 200kg of various seafood, including about 20kg of squid, more than 10kg of mantis shrimp and some other fish. Mr. Tan was excited: During this April 30 holiday, due to the high demand of tourists, the seafood caught was consumed quickly, all the seafood was bought by traders and the selling price was also higher than usual.

1 kg of squid is usually 120,000 VND/kg, but today it has increased to 160,000 VND/kg, other types of fish have also increased in price by 30 - 50%. Therefore, on this trip, Mr. Tan earned nearly 7 million VND, after deducting expenses, he still made a profit of 4 million VND.

Sea clams cost 30,000 VND/kg, farmed clams cost 20,000 VND/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to information from restaurants at Dien Thanh beach and some markets in Dien Chau and Yen Thanh districts, on the first day of the April 30 and May 1 holidays, most fresh seafood products increased in price: currently 1 kg of crab costs 500,000 - 600,000 VND, squid costs 250,000 - 350,000 VND/kg, farmed shrimp costs 200,000 - 300,000 VND/kg, sea clams cost 30,000 VND/kg, farmed clams cost 20,000 VND/kg...

Although the selling price has increased, there are still many customers coming to buy at the markets.

Sea crabs are popular with customers at a price of 500,000 - 600,000 VND/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Dien Chau district has 1,536 boats, of which only 286 are offshore fishing boats, the rest are nearshore fishing boats. Due to favorable weather in the first months of the year, the exploitation volume reached a high level and higher than the same period in 2017, the total output in 4 months reached more than 4,888 tons, of which fish: 2,384 tons, shrimp: 32 tons, squid 42 tons, other seafood: 2,250 tons; inland exploitation 3.15 tons.

Dien Chau fishermen are excited because seafood prices have increased during the holiday. Photo: Xuan Hoang

During holidays, seafood is always in high demand at the markets. Photo: Xuan Hoang

On the occasion of April 30 and May 1, food in general and fresh seafood in particular are in high demand. Especially, if the weather in the coming days is hot, the demand for seafood will increase sharply because of the large number of tourists flocking to the beaches.