Many shrimp breeders in the Mekong Delta Province of Bac Lieu recently made losses due to breeding giant freshwater prawns imported from China. These shrimp died quickly or grew too slowly.

A farmer in Bac Lieu Province breeds giant freshwater prawns (Photo: Dat Viet Newspaper)

A breeder in Phuoc Long District said that he bought 10,000 Chinese breed shrimps. After 20 days he found that all of them had died.

Some households bred such prawns for five to six months but ended up harvesting small prawns and had to sell them at a low price.

Phuoc Long District in 2008 had 1,595 hectares for breeding giant freshwater prawns. This year, it has reached 5,000 hectares leading to a fall in native prawns.

To meet demand, traders in the province imported Chinese prawns, with farmers discovering quantity trumping quality.