Nghe An: Seafood sales are sluggish as Covid-19 infections in Ha Tinh continue to increase
(Baonghean.vn) - Seafood is currently one of the most difficult foods to consume in Nghe An province at this time due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Due to the epidemicCovid-19Due to complicated developments, 5 localities in Nghe An bordering Ha Tinh province were forced to temporarily suspend many non-essential activities, including public catering services (only allowed to sell take-out). The temporary suspension of restaurants, eateries, beer bars... has caused food consumption to stagnate, of which seafood is one of the slowest selling items at this time.
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| Although the amount of seafood caught is still maintained, however, consumption is facing many difficulties due to the epidemic. Photo: Viet Hung |
In Quynh Luu district, with more than 600 offshore fishing vessels and more than 300 boats specializing in catching crabs, mantis shrimp, squid, etc., providing a rich source of seafood to the market. However, in recent days, seafood products inQuynh Luualways in a state of difficult consumption, large amount of stagnation.
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| Many restaurants and eateries have stopped operating, which is the main reason why seafood sales are sluggish. Photo: QA |
Fisherman Nguyen Van Hung in Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu) said: "My boat specializes in fishing in offshore areas, going out to sea in the evening and returning to shore the next morning.
Because of the close-to-shore fishing, the seafood is fresh and delicious, and traders and restaurant owners from many places come back to buy it all in just a few hours. However, in recent days, the number of traders buying has gradually decreased; today our boat caught 200kg of squid and 30kg of crab, but only sold about 1/3 of the quantity, the rest had to be brought back to be kept and stored until there was a customer to order it.
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| Many restaurants still have large quantities of seafood left over after temporarily closing. Photo: QA |
Sharing the same situation, fisherman Nguyen Van Do in Dien Bich commune (Dien Chau) shared: "After the locality ended social distancing, my boat went out to sea again. Although the catch was still guaranteed to be over 300 kg of various types of seafood per day, when the boat returned, the seafood washeavy slump, forced to sell at low prices, after deducting fuel costs, the crew no longer makes a profit...".
At Lach Van port - the largest fishing port in Dien Chau these days, the crowded and bustling scene is less than before due to the sudden decrease in the number of traders.
Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - Vice Chairman of Dien Ngoc Commune People's Committee said: "On average, every time a boat arrives at the port, there are around 1,000 people, however, in the past 2 days there were only 300 - 400 people, including crew members and traders. Seafood of fishermen is also mainly consumed within the district, very few traders from other localities come here...".
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| Seafood restaurant owners are currently focusing on selling out their remaining stock to take a break from the epidemic. Photo: QA |
Not only fishermen are having difficulties, but small traders are also having a "headache" finding ways to sell seafood. Ms. Ho Thi Thoa in Son Hai commune (Quynh Luu) said: "Normally, every morning, my husband and I transport a truckload of seafood to Vinh to import for restaurants and markets, but due to the epidemic, people are limited in going to the market to buy food, restaurants are also not operating, so by the end of the afternoon, there is a lot of seafood left, we have to bring it back."
Faced with the situation of seafood being difficult to sell, fishermen, traders and restaurant owners are currently applying many measures to deal with the large amount of seafood that is remaining and stagnant. Among them, many people are applying price reduction. According to a survey, seafood prices have decreased sharply compared to the end of May. For example, mackerel has decreased from 210,000 VND/kg to 160,000 VND/kg, crab grade 1 has decreased from 300,000 VND/kg to 200,000 VND/kg... other seafood has also decreased from 30 - 50%, but is still difficult to sell.
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| With a large backlog of seafood, preservation in cold storage is currently being applied by many facilities. Photo: QA |
Along with reducing costs, facilities are proactively upgrading cold storage to be able to preserve large quantities of seafood in the hope that the epidemic will soon be controlled so that business can resume./.