Mr. Pham Van Truong, Director of Tien Thanh Mussel Farming Cooperative, reported on the difficult situation the cooperative is in. The cooperative’s commercial mussel harvest is expected to be around 300 tons this year. However, the mussel price fell too much, so the cooperative could not make the expected profit.

Mussel farming cooperatives in Tra Vinh have implemented cultivation area planning and applied the technical process of clean mussel farming, as well as looking for companies to buy products. However, finding the output is still a big challenge for them.

Mr. Huynh Van Hoang, director of Long Thanh Agricultural Cooperative, said the price of commercial mussels still reached 30-32,000 VND/kg when farmed mussels were harvested in April. However, from the beginning of May, when the mussels reached their size is uniform, the prices start to fall and no traders want to buy commercial mussels now.

Long Thanh Agricultural Cooperative obtained ASC CERTIFICATE standard certification for farmed mussel products in March 2023. This confirms that mussel farming is done responsibly, protecting the environment and ensuring product quality. However, the cooperative’s lack of an export market makes it difficult to market and export mussel products.

In Tra Vinh Province there are a total of 7 mussel farming cooperatives with more than 2,000 members and an area of ​​about 3,500 ha of alluvial sea. In Long Hoa Township of Chau Thanh District, there are two cooperatives, Tien Thanh and Long Thanh, covering an area of ​​more than 280 hectares. However, only about 140 hectares are farmed and the annual mussel production is about 850 tons.

Tra Vinh Province’s agricultural sector aims to develop effective and sustainable mussel culture through cultivation area planning, use of clean mussel farming techniques and branding. This is seen as a way to connect with companies that buy products and promote the development of the shellfish industry in the future.