These days, the workcatfishThe sudden price increase has become a "hot" story that many fish farmers talk about. Some people rush to sell fish immediately to release new crops, but there are also people hoarding goods, waiting for higher prices.

"Short-term pleasure"?

Mr. Chuong Van Khanh - living in Tan Loc ward, Thot Not district, Can Tho city - said a seafood company is asking to buycatfishof local people at the price of 30,000 VND/kg, size 850-900 g/head.

"In the past two years, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the price of pangasius has dropped to 19,000-23,000 VND/kg, causing farmers to suffer heavy losses or just break even. However, the price of fish suddenly increased to 30,000 VND/kg after the Lunar New Year. So after deducting costs, farmers make a profit of about 5,000 VND/kg," said Mr. Khanh excitedly.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tan Phong, Director of Dai Thang Aquaculture Cooperative (Hau Giang province), the cooperative currently has about 200 tons of pangasius in the pond that has not been sold. In the past few days, people from factories and traders have come to ask to buy pangasius at the price of 27,000-28,000 VND/kg, but many farmers still refuse to sell because companies in some provinces have bought 30,000 VND/kg.

Before the fever of pangasius prices, fish farmers like Mr. Nguyen Van Hoc - in Chau Doc city, An Giang province - feel very happy. His family currently has 4 fish ponds, of which 1 is about to be sold, 1 has just released seed and 2 is left empty. Before Tet, Mr. Hoc sold a fish pond of about 500 tons, losing more than 1 billion VND. In recent days, the price of fish is about 30,000 VND/kg, he hopes that a pond that is about to be sold will make up for the recent loss and have more costs to invest in the next crop.

"With the current price of about 30,000 VND/kg, farmers like me make a profit of about 5,000 VND/kg. However, maybe this is just a short-term pleasure. Market prices are always fluctuating, farmers still have to bear the burden. This year's seed quality is not high, 30%-50% loss, feed prices also skyrocketed right after Tet. Therefore, the current high price of fish only brings joy to farmers. Now, but no one knows what to do later," Hoc wondered.

Meanwhile, Mr. LD - a longtime pangasius farmer in Ke Sach district, Soc Trang province - still refuses to sell pangasius at this time. According to him, fish prices will continue to increase in the next few days.

Processing pangasius at a seafood company in the Mekong Delta. Photo: NGOC TRINH

Beware of "traps"

In 2021, the Covid-19 epidemic has had a significant impact on the production of raw pangasius in Vietnam. The complicated situation of drought and saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta also affects pangasius farming.

In addition, while the price of feed, international freight and fuel prices have increased in recent years, the average export price of pangasius has not increased significantly. Since then, the price of pangasius raw materials is low, farmers lose a lot. Some people do not continue to stock new stock, resulting in a decrease in the amount of raw fish.

Mr. Tran Anh Dung, Director of the Fisheries Sub-Department of An Giang province, said that pangasius farmers need to be very calm because the current price may be "virtual". It can be created by businesses (DN) that have never had an association contract - they buy fish in many places but cannot, forced to push up the price to buy fish for signed contracts. . 

Meanwhile, farming households that have an association contract with enterprises still keep their prices stable. The current price fever may be a "trick" of some businesses. This price could last for a week or a few weeks. Currently, if farmers rush to import seeds, they can "fall into a trap" in terms of prices later.

Mr. Dung explained: "In fact, the high price of pangasius was predicted by us before Tet, because last year there was a time when farmers actively did not release fish, so there will be a time when there will be a shortage of raw materials in the first quarter of this year. Now, businesses that buy fish at a high price to make farmers find it attractive will invest a lot in farming. When they raise a lot, they may "fall into a trap" like many years ago. then, not until now."

According to Mr. Duong Nghia Quoc, Chairman of the Vietnam Pangasius Association, many markets are in high demand to import pangasius, especially the US. Therefore, it is forecasted that this year, the price of raw pangasius will increase sharply. However, new stocking farmers need to be controlled because if there is a massive stocking of seeds and excess supply, the cycle of sharp price drops may repeat in early 2023.