(seafood.vasep.com.vn) An Giang province has many advantages for developing freshwater aquaculture. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Giang, in the first six months of 2024, although seafood prices have decreased, the export situation has been promising, leading to an expansion in farming areas and an increase in harvested production compared to the same period.
In recent years, seafood has been one of the two major agricultural sectors in An Giang. Besides the main farmed species, pangasius, An Giang also has a wide variety of indigenous species, such as red tilapia, spotted snakehead, basa fish, pangasius, silver barb, giant freshwater prawn, tilapia, knifefish, giant barb, eel, and flathead catfish... These aquatic species have a large consumption market in Cambodia.
Total aquaculture area in the province is currently around 3,100 hectares, with approximately 5,682 cages and rafts, involving over 2,600 households farming in ponds, 3,566 households farming in cages and rafts, and 1,400 households breeding various aquatic species. The annual harvest yield is over 600,000 tons, and more than 6 billion seedlings of various aquatic species are produced and reared annually.
It is estimated that the total aquaculture production in the first six months of 2024 reached 357 thousand tons, an increase of 5.42% (+18.4 thousand tons) compared to the same period last year. This includes over 324.8 thousand tons of harvested pangasius, a 6.33% increase (+19.4 thousand tons), primarily due to increased production in enterprise farming areas with around 207 thousand tons (accounting for 63.73% of the total pangasius production), up by 12 thousand tons compared to the same period. The total harvest of other fish species was over 32.2 thousand tons, a decrease of 3% (-1 thousand tons) compared to the same period. The demand and selling prices remained consistently high, resulting in a harvest of about 165 tons of other aquatic species, an increase of 9.56% (+14 tons) compared to the same period.
In the future, the aquaculture industry will continue to promote the development of potential species for export to the Cambodian market and high-value economic specialty species. For pangasius, identified as the main aquatic species, the provincial will enhance inspection, classification, and evaluation of food safety conditions in commercial pangasius farming facilities, ensuring control over antibiotic residue risks and traceability of products to meet export market requirements.
At the same time, the development of concentrated farming areas and high-tech commercial pangasius production zones will be promoted. The application of scientific and technical advances, and the management of facilities according to international standards (ASC, BAP) will help to limit diseases and losses, reduce production costs, and increase the competitiveness of products.
