Nghe An: Raising sea clams for export brings in profits of 300 - 500 million VND/household/year

Mr. Dong Nhu Nguyen's family in Son Hai commune (Quynh Luu) harvested more than 60 tons of commercial clams, earning a profit of over 300 million VND. Photo: Viet Hung

Commercial clams are raised in a rotational manner, the farming period lasts over 1 year. To always have clams to harvest, on an area of ​​1 hectare, farmers will divide it into separate areas for farming. The most suitable time to stock clams is from March to April of the solar calendar. After 1 year of farming, people harvest and continue to stock clams.

With more than 14 years of working at sea, Mr. Dong Nhu Nguyen in Son Hai commune is one of the wealthiest households in the region thanks to developing clam farming.

Mr. Nguyen said that the tide is currently low, so households in the tidal flats of Quynh Tho commune are focusing on harvesting clams. His family hired 5 workers to go to the beach to rake clams; for every hour of work, the workers receive 15,000 VND; when there are many clams, traders will come to the area to buy them.

“From now until the end of May, the family will finish harvesting about 1 hectare of clams from the remaining winter crop of 2017 with a total annual output of about 60 tons; after deducting the cost of seeds, the family will earn a profit of about 300 million VND,” Mr. Nguyen shared.

Clams are usually harvested year-round; the main season is from January to May of the lunar calendar and from October to April of the following year. Photo: Viet Hung.

In 2017, favorable weather created good conditions for clams to grow and develop, so the clam mortality rate decreased significantly compared to previous years.

According to Mr. Ho Minh Huynh, a clam farmer in Quynh Tho commune, on average 1 hectare of clams yields 50 tons, 10-15 tons/ha higher than previous years.

“This year, clam farming households all had a good harvest, the loss rate was only 10%, and wherever the harvest was, there were traders who bought it at 13,000 VND/kg. Thanks to favorable output, each farming household earned an average profit of 300 - 500 million VND/year; there were households raising dozens of hectares of clams like Mr. Thai Ba Khang in Son Hai commune who had a big win this season,” said Mr. Huynh.

Clams are farmed intensively for 1-2 years (depending on the size of the seed). The current purchase price at the wharf is 13,000 VND/kg. Photo: Viet Hung

Quynh Luu district currently has about 140 hectares of clam farming area, concentrated along the tidal flats of Quynh Tho, Son Hai, Quynh Thuan, An Hoa communes... Clam farming in the tidal flats is done by people in an intensive manner. Annual clam output reaches 2,800 - 3,000 tons/year; revenue reaches about 50 billion VND. Commercial clams on the market are currently priced from 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg. Being a clean seafood favored by customers, Quynh Luu sea clams are now widely consumed throughout the country.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - a clam trader said that Quynh Luu is a large clam farming area, which is purchased and consumed everywhere. After Tet until now, Mr. Hung has continuously called farming households to buy from 500 kg to 1 ton of clams and then brought them to markets in Dien Chau district for wholesale and retail. Not only Mr. Hung, many other traders also come to the tidal flats to buy clams, especially during the tourist season.

Traders from all over come to the tidal flats of Quynh Luu district to buy sea clams. Photo: Viet Hung

Not only for domestic consumption, many seafood processing factories in Thanh Hoa, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho... purchase to process, package using vacuum technology and then export to foreign countries such as Laos and Korea./.