Nghe An farmers raise loach cartilage and sell all of it

The pond for raising loach of Mr. Ho Ngoc Thang's family in hamlet 3, Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Following the concrete road in the fields of Quynh Doi commune, we came to the ponds and lagoons.loachof farmers in the area investing in intensive farming.

Mr. Ho Ngoc Thang - owner of a pond raising loach in hamlet 3 excitedly said that on a pond area of ​​3,000m²He has invested in raising loach cartilage for over a year now, each batch has high productivity, good market consumption. Currently, he is releasing 750,000 loach seeds, has been raised for 50 days, weight is about 120 loach/kg. With this growth rate, it is estimated that in about 30 days the weight will reach 40 loach/kg, and will be sold.

"For a long time now, the selling price of commercial loach cartilage has been from 75,000 - 80,000 VND/kg, but it cannot meet the demand.market. Every time it is time to harvest loach, traders from the northern provinces come to buy and sell out all the quantity. Recently, some restaurants in Vinh city and mountainous districts of Nghe An have also placed orders," Mr. Ho Ngoc Thang shared.

Intensive farming of loach will yield harvest after 3 months. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Also on that field is a pond raising loach of Mr. Ho Trung Duc's family, with an area of ​​1,000m2.²water surface. Mr. Duc is the first person in Quynh Doi commune to raise commercial loach. Therefore, when discussing with us the advantages and disadvantages of intensively raising loach, Mr. Duc said that the process of raising loach is similar to raising shrimp, it is necessary to treat the water source to be clean and use water fans in the pond to provide adequate oxygen.

The advantages of the loach are that it is easy to raise, has few diseases, and has a high survival rate; the disadvantages are that they eat a lot and consume a lot of food. There is no source of supply of young loach in the province, so we have to go to the northern provinces to buy them at high prices.

"Although selling at 75,000 - 80,000 VND/kg, due to high input costs, the profit is only about 1/3. With 1,000m², if stocked at the right density of over 200 fish/m²"Each batch can yield about 4 - 5 tons of commercial loach, after deducting costs, the profit is about over 100 million VND, within nearly 3 months," said Mr. Duc.

Currently, cartilaginous loach weighing about 40 fish/kg is purchased by traders at 75,000 - 80,000 VND/kg. Photo: Xuan Hoang

According to Mr. Ho Bao Thong - Chairman of the People's CommitteeQuynh Doi communesaid: The loach has been invested in by farmers in the commune since the end of 2021. From the effectiveness of the first model, up to now, there are 6 households investing in raising loach, with a total area of ​​more than 9,000m²water surface. Loaches are easy to raise, and people raise them intensively, so the annual output of commercial loaches is tens of tons. Due to the strong consumption market, everything is sold out.

"Due to high market demand, the current households raising loach in the commune have not been able to meet the demand. With the potential of the locality having many low-lying areas, ponds and lakes for aquaculture, people can renovate to expand the area of ​​loach farming, supply the market, and increase income," said Mr. Ho Bao Thong./.