Nguyen Thien Phap, an An Giang Province fish farmer, has been facing tough time for the past two months trying to sell his tra catfish to processors. Cadonimex of Dong Thap province has agreed to buy 100,000 kilograms at VND13,900 each. This price meant Phap lost VND150 million (US$9,287) in the bargain, but he was not unhappy. Commenting on this Thap said that he is lucky he go the buyer and sold his fish there are many who failed to get a single buyer as the situation has become worst.
According to Thap the longer the fishermen hold their fish the more they will lose. In recent months, tra fish farmers have found it hard to sell their products as processors are reluctant to buy. The present situation is so tough that the aquaculture processors and exporters in the Mekong Delta blame the tight credit policy that makes it difficult for them to borrow working capital from banks.
Even small- and medium-sized businesses in particular lament their dire shortage of funds after banks began to toughen up on loans. Many businesses hesitate to sign new export contracts with foreign partners for fear they will not be able to make good on them. The Mekong River Delta Fisheries Association told that the tra farmers harvest around 100,000 tons every month. But processing plants are only buying small quantities.
It is fact that the 20 factories in An Giang Province are working below capacity these days. Phan Van Danh, chairman of the An Giang Fisheries Association, said most of them only worked at 30 percent of capacity. For tra farmers, the lukewarm demand has been pushing prices down. The price has come down drastically in just two weeks from VND500 to VND14,000.
Ngo Minh Tan of the Dong Thap Fisheries Association said tra farmers, once they sold mature fish, were no longer raising a fresh crop. He further adds that this is only a rough estimate. The actual figure may be much higher as the tra fish are near to the brink of collapse.
