Intense heat, Nghe An field crabs reach 100,000 VND/kg

Field crabs are caught by people in many communes of Yen Thanh district at night and sold to traders. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, a trader specializing in buying field crabs in the communes of Nam Thanh, Ly Thanh, Long Thanh... of Yen Thanh district, said that the price of field crabs has increased to 100,000 VND/kg for the past week, previously it was only 80,000 VND/kg. The reason for the increase in price of field crabs is due to the high demand for field crabs for food processing in the northern cities, especially Hanoi.

However, the supply has decreased because it is hot and dry at this time, so people find it difficult to catch crabs. Before, when the fields were full of water, he could buy over 300 kg per day, but now he can only buy 100 - 150 kg.

At this time, many fields are dry, so the number of crabs caught is not much. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Every day, I buy crabs from early morning until 9:30 pm. I process the crabs by freezing them in ice water, then send them by bus to Hanoi for sale," said Mr. Nguyen Van Tan.

It is known that in Yen Thanh district there are about 5-7 traders who specialize in purchasing field crabs to transport to Hanoi, Hai Phong... for consumption.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tho in Tay Ho hamlet, Nam Thanh commune said that at this time, the rice has just been sown, many fields are dry so the crabs cannot come out of their holes, making it very difficult to catch. Previously, she could catch 1 kg of crabs every night, but now she can only catch 3-5 taels. However, because the price of crabs has increased to 100,000 VND/kg, the income is almost the same.

Field crabs are packaged and refrigerated to be transported by passenger vans to Hanoi, Hai Phong... for consumption. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to crab traders, in addition to farmers in Yen Thanh, Do Luong, Dien Chau, Hung Nguyen districts... of Nghe An who catch crabs, there are also traders from the southern provinces transporting crabs to the north for consumption, so the price of crabs can hardly be higher. Previously, there was a year when the price of crabs in Nghe An reached a record high of 120,000 VND/kg.