Loan is very much needed as the farmers want to compensate for skyrocketing feed prices, but banks have refused to lend, saying that many farmers have been negligent in paying off their debts. Tan Loc Island in the city of Can Tho’s Thot Not District used to be well-known for its tra fish breeding farms. The industry had developed rapidly and many once poor farmers had become rich quickly several years ago.
However, the island of billionaires now has become the island of debts. According to Tan Loc Ward’s People’s Committee, the issue began in 2008 when tra fish prices plunged and farmers were unable to sell due to an oversupply. In the beginning of this year, tra fish prices increased slightly but then continued falling alongside surging feed prices.
In Thuan An fishing village, also in Thot Not District, the condition is not any better.
Thuan An tra breeder Vo Van Nam said that last year he bred about 200 tons of fish, resulting in a loss of VND2 billion (US$105,000). He has sold all his property but still can’t pay all his debt.
As per Nguyen Thi Le in Lai Vung District of Dong Thap Province fish breeders now have no way to access more loans as all of their properties have already been mortgaged at banks. He informed that that in other delta provinces, 40-50 percent of ponds have been abandoned. Le Chi Binh, director of An Giang Fisheries Association, said that breeding fish now requires big capital. According to him to breed 100 tons of tra fish, a farmer needed at least VND1.7-1.8 billion (US$90,000-95,000). Most breeders cannot afford the steep expenses without loans from banks.
