Kyauktan shrimp farmers consider quitting

It's hard to see where it has gone all gone wrong: 7000 acres of prime aquaculture farmland only 30 miles or (48 kilometres), from the country’s biggest city and market, Yangon, but nearly half of the zone’s farmers are giving up.

The zone, at Mayan Zwebar village in Kyauktan township in Yangon Region, includes nearly 50 farmers, but 22 say they must soon stop working because they are not making money.

The Myanmar Fisheries Federation (MFF) says it will do what it can to provide technology and attract foreign investment, said the body’s vice president, U Kyee Ngwe.

“This is a good place for farming because we can farm prawn and marine fish species such as long-finned eel [ngalin ban], giant seabass (ka ka tit) and crab,” he said. “All of those species can fetch good prices locally and internationally. But to do so we need good infrastructure and some capital.”

Tiger prawns are selling for between K15,000 and K20,000 a viss (1.6 kilograms or 3.6 pounds), while long-finned eel trades for about K24,000 a viss and giant seabass sells for about K10,000 viss.

U Kyee Ngwe added that farmers face high production and transport costs, and do not have the capital needed to improve their operations.

“There are no good highway roads and no electricity, which makes life difficult for farmers,” he said. “And farmers cannot upgrade their farms. Only about 700 acres of the zone can be said to have really good production.”

When farmers sell their produce nearby they are unable to get the best prices because the goods must be transported to Yangon, said U Thein Kyaw Nyunt, owner of a 200-acre prawn farm.

“We cannot sell our products in Yangon markets because transport and freezing is expensive,” he said. “Ice sells for K1000 a pound in Yangon but it’s K3000 here.”

He said that farmers must instead accept lower prices, up to K2000 a viss, and sell to traders who transport to markets in town.

U Thein Kyaw Nyunt said farmers need to invest K500,000 an acre and in a good year when shrimp prices are high might earn K1 million an acre. Most farms produce yields of between 20 and 50 viss an acre.

A Myanmar Shrimp Association spokesperson said farms that used technologically advanced farming techniques could significantly increase yields but the cost of production could be 30 times higher when the capital investment was included.

Current plans to attract foreign investment are based on government-to-government assistance programs or direct joint ventures between companies, said U Kyee Ngwe.

“If other countries want to assist the ministry, we will help that process. Currently Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia are interested in investing,” he said.

U Han Htun, MFF executive vice president, said an efficient prawn farming zone in Yangon could supply the nation’s needs.

source: The Myanmar Times
http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/business/8507-kyauktan-shrimp-farmers-consider-quitting.html