Oyster crop failure, Quynh Luu farmers suffer losses

Oyster farming area of ​​An Hoa commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Viet Hung

These days, along the rivers flowing into the sea in Quynh Luu district, people are gathering to harvest oysters. This year, the oyster crop failed, so the harvest atmosphere is quite gloomy.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuong, an oyster farmer in Tan An village, An Hoa commune (Quynh Luu) said: My family raises 5 rafts with more than 2,000 oyster strings. In good harvest years, each raft brings in over 10 million VND. This year, not only my family but many households are also facing crop failure; meanwhile, the selling price is low, so everyone is sad.

After the oysters were scooped up, people gathered to remove the intestines from the shells. Photo: Viet Hung

An Hoa Commune currently has about 70 oyster farming households with more than 200 rafts released along the Mo River. According to the farming households, this year, the harvest was generally poor due to polluted water sources; along with that, there was a situation of parasitic mussels attaching themselves, destroying the growth of oysters.

“In previous years, each time the oyster intestines were separated from the shell, about 98% of the products were produced. However, this year, the oysters did not reach the productivity, some were lost, so about 30-40% of the products were not produced, a significant decrease compared to previous years. With a bad harvest, the selling price was even cheaper. After Tet, demand increased, with prices at times ranging from 180,000 to 200,000 VND/kg; however, at this time, the price only fluctuates from 100,000 to 120,000 VND/kg,” said Ms. Tran Thi Linh in An Hoa commune.

Oysters are sold for 100,000 - 120,000 VND/kg. Photo: Viet Hung

Quynh Luu district has many oyster farming areas, concentrated in the communes of An Hoa, Quynh Nghia, Quynh Thuan... Oysters can be harvested after 10-12 months of farming. To meet market demand during the summer or before, during and after Tet, people have adjusted their farming schedules accordingly to have products to harvest. If the harvest is good, each household earns an average of 50-70 million VND/year (depending on the number of rafts). However, at this time, the oyster crop is bad, the price is also cheap, so each household loses tens of millions of VND.

Mr. Ho Anh Dung - Chairman of the People's Committee of An Hoa Commune (Quynh Luu) said: Being a coastal commune has advantages in developing the profession of exploiting, processing and cultivating seafood; including oyster farming. Taking advantage of the river flowing to the estuary, households invest in making sturdy rafts for farming. This profession does not require much investment, but if the harvest is good, the value is very high. However, entering this year's crop, the oyster harvest is low, the selling price is not high, affecting people's income. The locality continues to propagate oyster farming households to find solutions to overcome and change farming methods to achieve better results./.