Cobia prices drop sharply, farmers worried

(Quang Ngai Newspaper) - Cage fish farming has brought clear economic benefits to many households in Ly Son district in recent years. However, since the beginning of 2024, the price of commercial cobia has continuously decreased, causing fish farmers to worry.

For many years, Mr. Huynh Ngoc Thao, in Dong An Hai village, has been one of the households raising cobia in large quantities and achieving high efficiency in Ly Son. Seeing the effectiveness of marine farming, in 2024, Mr. Thao invested in raising 80 cobia and grouper cages. However, the price of cobia and grouper is currently falling sharply, purchasing power is weak, so the income is only enough to cover expenses.

"I just sold 10 tons of cobia, earning more than 1.4 billion VND. There are 15 tons of fish that are ready to be harvested, but because the price of fish has dropped to only 135,000 VND/kg, I have not sold them yet. In about 10 days, if the price does not increase, I will still have to sell the fish because the weather is hot, if left for a long time, the fish can easily get sick, leading to heavy losses," Mr. Thao shared.

Raising cobia in cages in Ly Son.

Similarly, dozens of cobia cages owned by Mr. Truong Dinh Phu in Tay An Hai village are also entering the selling stage. “Every year at this time, cobia prices are around 160,000 - 180,000 VND/kg, even 200,000 VND/kg. However, since the beginning of the year, the price of fish has continuously decreased, while the investment cost for cobia has increased. Now, keeping the fish is risky...”, Mr. Phu worried.

According to statistics from the Department of Economic and Rural Infrastructure of Ly Son district, there are currently about 1,640 cages of 55 households raising aquatic products at sea in the district. On average, each household raises 20-30 cages, many of which invest in raising 50-80 cages. The main fish raised are cobia, pompano, grouper, giant catfish, orange bream and some lobster cages. The harvest output by the end of April 2024 reached about 60 tons.

Ly Son district has favorable conditions for developing fish cage farming. The district has planned a fish cage farming area of about 12 hectares. However, there is currently no area to move the cages when the weather is bad, so the local government regularly propagates and encourages people not to increase the number of households raising fish and to expand the farming area moderately in the planning area. In addition, the district's agricultural sector also recommends that people choose the right time to release fish to avoid losses for farmers.

Article and photos: AN NHIEN

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