Enhancing the quality, reputation and economic value of Ca Mau crabs

(Chinhphu.vn) - Ca Mau crab is not only a specialty but also a source of pride for local people. Accordingly, Ca Mau province has planned to develop and export crab into a key industry, contributing to improving people's lives and developing the province's economy.

Signing ceremony of supply and consumption of Ca Mau crab products between Thanh Nien Global Company and crab farming cooperatives in Ca Mau province - Photo: VGP/LS

Commitment to purchasing products for farmers

Currently, Ca Mau crab has become a product that many businesses and consumers are "hunting", especially the commitment to purchase stable output products, good prices for people and crab farming cooperatives in the province. To realize this commitment, one of the pioneering units, Thanh Nien Global Trading Company (Thanh Nien Global), has signed a cooperation agreement to supply and purchase aquatic raw materials with 20 crab farming cooperatives in Ca Mau province.

Signing with Cooperatives in Ca Mau will be a strategic step to meet the increasing demand for output and quality of live crabs in Thanh Nien Global Company's export markets, especially the Chinese market. In addition, Thanh Nien Global Company is also targeting two other demanding markets, Taiwan (China) and Singapore. Currently, this unit also accounts for about 30% of Ca Mau's total live crab export output. Cooperation with Cooperatives in Ca Mau province will help the supply to be more abundant and stable for the target of 50% of total output by 2026.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phu, Vice Chairman of Thanh Nien Global's Board of Directors, shared: 3 years ago, seeing the development potential of Ca Mau crab, we began to prepare the most necessary things to build a sustainable industry in Ca Mau. Our staff traveled to all communes and hamlets in Ca Mau to learn about crabs and how farmers raise crabs with the aim of building a unique brand called "Ca Mau crab".

"We not only learn about techniques but also about how to think and live to understand the local people, because crab is not only a product but also a pride bearing the cultural mark of the southernmost land of the Fatherland. We want to work with Ca Mau farmers to create, build and elevate the unique brand of Ca Mau," said Mr. Phu.

Ca Mau is a locality with many potential advantages in the crab industry. Recently, the province has been converting that potential into actual output with a target of 31,300 tons for 2025, the combined crab farming area of ​​Ca Mau is set at over 418,000 hectares. Experts, engineers and farmers said that to improve the quality of crabs, the province must promote standardization (raw material areas with traceable origin), support disease prevention techniques and develop export processing chains, which is the way to turn "a lot of crabs" into "valuable crabs".

Crab products with QR Code of Cai Bat Processing, Trade, Service and Aquaculture Cooperative meet 3-star OCOP standard - Photo: VGP/LS

Attach QR Code for Ca Mau crab products

Talking to the Government Electronic Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Hoang An, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cai Bat Processing, Trade, Services and Aquaculture Cooperative (Ca Mau) said: "Ca Mau considers crabs as a product and Ca Mau does not lack crabs and Ca Mau needs stable outlets for crabs to return to their original position and most importantly, have high economic value, helping to improve the lives of local people. I am very happy to have signed an agreement to find outlets for Ca Mau crabs. If this expectation is achieved, cooperatives like ours will also go a long way to help Ca Mau crabs export to more markets."

For nearly 8 years, Cai Bat Cooperative has been a pioneer in attaching QR Code to its Ca Mau crab brand. The Cooperative has mobilized members to develop a model of intercropping crab farming in organic shrimp farming areas, creating high-quality crab products, free of antibiotic and chemical residues, and ensuring supply to the market.

Accordingly, the Cooperative uses QR Code printed drawstrings on each product, helping consumers to easily trace the origin, while maintaining the brand for local specialty products. With this unique idea, the Cooperative's QR Code crab product has been certified as a 3-star OCOP product by the Cai Nuoc District OCOP Evaluation and Classification Council since 2023.

Sharing the same opinion with Mr. An, Mr. Tien Y Nguyen, Director of Ca Mau Salted Crab Cooperative, said: "Personally, I expect much more from a cooperation contract. It is the multi-faceted support of Thanh Nien Global from communication, marketing to the way to commercialize square and pond crab products to the market, to raise the level of Ca Mau crabs."

Nam Bo Agricultural Service Cooperative operates molting crab farming technology by changing the water environment - Photo: VGP/LS

Changing technology, increasing economic value

Director of the Southern Agricultural Service Cooperative Nguyen Van Hai said that the Cooperative is operating a technology to raise molting crabs that ensures quality, deliciousness, and nutrition, without using chemicals that affect the growth process of the crabs, but instead using biological methods to change the water environment so that the crabs can adapt to molting themselves. Thereby, increasing the commercial value many times compared to conventional crab farming. This is a process to increase the value of Ca Mau crabs, which are inherently low in quality, highly effective, and environmentally friendly.

"Our Ca Mau soft-shell crab products are favored by domestic and foreign customers, especially Muslim countries. At the Ca Mau crab festival in mid-November 2025 in Ca Mau, the cooperative will continue to promote commercial exports with tons of crabs to continue supplying to the market," said Mr. Hai.

In recent times, Ca Mau has promoted its advantages in terms of extensive farming areas and the ability to integrate shrimp and crab farming on a large scale. The province is also promoting integrated crab farming models, developing "safe raw material areas" and building standard model areas to increase productivity and output quality. Farming models apply biosafety processes, raw material areas linked to consumption and projects towards food safety certification, helping to increase commercial value.

Therefore, Ca Mau has oriented to develop 62 hectares of standard farming model, raw material areas with traceable origin and apply probiotics in crab-shrimp intercropping to reduce disease risks.

However, it must be acknowledged that Ca Mau is still facing many challenges affecting crab quality such as: Traditional extensive farming techniques leading to low productivity; barriers in supply chain management, lack of standard raw material areas and disease pressure, climate change and fluctuations in export markets. Without disease control, water environment management and production standardization, the yield advantage will be difficult to translate into sustainable profits.

Ca Mau province said that it is expected that from November 16-22, 2025, at Mui Ca Mau tourist area, Ca Mau will organize the 2nd Ca Mau Crab Festival 2025 with the theme "forest scent, sea taste", attracting a large number of organizations and individuals to register to participate.

These activities aim to promote and enhance the brand of Ca Mau crab; introduce culinary culture and OCOP products; connect and cooperate with domestic and foreign enterprises and investors to build a complete value chain of the province's sea crab industry; and promote research and application of technology in farming and processing to improve productivity and quality of crabs. Thereby, promoting the economic, cultural, tourism potential and sustainable development prospects of the province.

Le Son

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/nang-tam-chat-luong-danh-tieng-va-gia-tri-kinh-te-cua-ca-mau-102251011213320298.htm