Bioeconomic analyses for tiger shrimp penaeus monodon and striped catfish pangasianodon hypopthalmus farming in the mekong delta, vietnam

國立臺灣海洋大學
水產養殖學系
博士學位論文
指導教授：繆峽 博士
越南湄公河三角洲草蝦 Penaeus monodon 與條紋鯰
Pangasianodon hypopthalmus 養殖之生物經濟分析
Bioeconomic analyses for Tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon
and Striped catfish Pangasianodon hypopthalmus farming
in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

研究生：張平(Truong Khac Hieu) 撰
中華民國 104 年 6 月


越南湄公河三角洲草蝦 Penaeus monodon 與條紋鯰
Pangasianodon hypopthalmus 養殖之生物經濟分析
Bioeconomic analyses for Tiger shrimp Penaeus
monodon and Striped catfish Pangasianodon
hypopthalmus farming in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

研 究 生：張平
指導教授：繆峽

Student：Truong Khac Hieu
Advisor：Dr. Miao Sha

國 立 臺 灣 海 洋 大 學
水 產 養 殖 學 系
博 士 論 文
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Department of Aquaculture

College of Life Sciences
National Taiwan Ocean University
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
In
Aquaculture
June 2015
Keelung, Taiwan, Republic of China

中華民國 104 年 6 月


Acknowledgments
First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to VEST 500 project for the
financial support that helped to make that first step be possible. I am truly indebted for
letting me experience educational journey to National Taiwan Ocean University.
Secondly, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to National Taiwan Ocean
University for my admission. Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to widen my
theoretical knowledge and beautiful experiences that gives me foundation for near future
along my cultural experience.
My profoundest gratitude goes to my advisor, Dr. Sha Miao for the unreserved help,
guidance and valuable comments which lead to the fulfillment and improvement of this
manuscript step by step. I have learned many things since I became Dr. Sha Miao’s
student. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Cheng Ting Huang who helped me
format my dissertation and resolve my difficulties during time studying at NTOU. My
special thanks come to my lab mates and friends for always being available to help me in
my research.
Most certainly, I would also like to express sincere gratitude to the leaders and staff
of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Agency of Aquatic Resources

Exploitation and Conservation of An Giang, Can Tho and Tra Vinh Provinces and
Fisheries Divisions of An Phu, Chau Doc, Thot Not, Tieu Can, Cau Ke districts provided
information and data related to this study and joined in the farm survey. Thanks also to
my colleagues, who were actively involved in data collection and households interviews.
Most importantly, I would like to thank my parents and my wife for their love and
encouragement.

i


摘要
本研究探討越南湄公河三角洲之草蝦與條紋鯰養殖在不同養殖地區及生產規
模的經濟分析。
根據研究結果顯示，草蝦養殖之生產成本與經營獲利皆會因生產規模不同而有
顯著差異，其中以集約式養殖具有較高之營運成本、生產效益與盈利能力，其次為
半集約式養殖，而粗放式養殖則最低；條紋鯰養殖之生產成本與經營獲利皆會因養
殖地區不同而有顯著差異，營運成本與生產效益以中游地區為最高，其次為上游地
區，而下游地區則最低，但在盈利能力方面則以下游地區優於上游、中游或其他更
高海拔養殖地區。經 Cobb-Douglas 生產函數分析，草蝦養殖如增加固定、種苗和
飼料成本投入，淨收益會隨著經濟規模遞增而增加；而條紋鯰養殖如增加飼料投
入，淨收益會隨著經濟規模遞增而增加，但用藥成本投入提高則會使淨收益遞減。
由典型相關分析發現，兩個產業同時考慮生物耐受性和經濟權衡可使管理與生產效
率最佳化，在草蝦養殖應考慮最適放養密度與養殖存活率；條紋鯰養殖方面則是考
慮最適放養密度與種苗規格。
草蝦養殖方面，粗放式養殖欲增加收益需提高生產規模與提升養殖技術，而半
集約系統養殖則可延長養殖週期來提高利潤。條紋鯰養殖方面，最佳生產效益表現
上，中游地區應放養 1.83 公分的魚苗規格；上游地區最適放養密度為 47.17 尾/平
方公尺；下游地區最佳收穫重量為 0.86 公斤/尾。此外，政府應建立適當的政策及
基礎設施以加強種苗品質管理、鼓勵養殖業者使用能取代石化能源的電力、申請全
球 GAP 標準以提升國際市場的貿易競爭、增加國內飼料加工企業競爭力。

關鍵字: 草蝦(Penaeus monodon)、 條紋鯰(Pangasianodon hypopthalmus)、生 物經
濟、生產系統、收益、多變量統計分析

ii


Abstract
The bioeconomic analysis of cost and return for Tiger shrimp and Striped catfish
farming in Mekong Delta, Vietnam was studied by considering different production
scales and geographical locations.
Both the production cost and the profitability were influenced by the production
scales for Tiger shrimp farming and impacted by the geographical locations for Striped
catfish farming. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that operating cost, benefit and
earning capacity increased from extensive to semi intensive and finally to intensive
systems for Tiger shrimp farming. Meanwhile, operating cost and benefit declined from
middlestream ponds to upstream ponds and finally to downstream ponds for Striped
catfish farming, however, the earning power of downstream ponds was higher than that
of upstream or middlestream ponds. Cobb Douglas production function analysis revealed
that net revenue from increasing the production scale would increase if input intensities
of fixed, seed and feed costs rose for Tiger shrimp farming while net revenue from
increasing the production scale would increase if input intensity of feed cost rose and net
revenue would decrease with an increase in input intensity of medication costs for Striped
catfish farming. Canonical correlation analysis mentioned that to delimit the most
appropriate stocking density and survival rate for Tiger shrimp farming as well as the
most suitable stocking density and fingerling size for Striped catfish farming by
considering both the biological tolerance and economic trade-off effects would be
better through the management and production efficiency for both of two industries.
For Tiger shrimp farming, the production scale and cultivation techniques of
extensive system should be invested more and the culture period of semi-intensive

system should be longer to raise the profit. For Striped catfish farming, the size of
fingerlings from middlestream ponds (1.83 cm high), the stocking density from upstream
ponds (47.17 fingerlings /m2), and the weight of fish harvested from downstream ponds
(0.86 kg/fish) should be the best for production efficiency. Besides, various levels of
government should put in place suitable policies and infrastructure to reinforce the
management of seed quality, to encourage farmers to use electricity instead of petroleum,
to apply Global Good Agricultural Practisces standards to improve trade competition in
iii


international markets, to increase competitive capacity of domestic feed processing
companies.
Keywords:

Tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), Striped catfish (Pangasianodon

hypopthalmus), bioeconomic, production system, profitability, multivariate statistical
analysis

iv


Abbreviations
ACC

Aquaculture Certification Council

AFA

An Giang Fisheries Association

AGIFISH Company An Giang Fisheries Export company
APPU

An Giang Fish Pure Pangasius Union

ASC

Aquaculture Stewardship Council

AUSAID

Australian Agency for International Development

BCR

Benefit cost ratio

BMP

Better Management Practices

DANIDA

Danish International Development Agency

DARDTV

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tra Vinh
province

DOA

Department of Aquaculture Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development

DOF

Directorate of Fisheries

EU

European Union

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

FCR

Feed conversion ratio

Fistenet

The website of Department of Fisheries

GAP

Good Agricultural Practices

Global GAP

Global Good Aquaculture Practices

MANOVA

Multivariate analysis of variance

MARD

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

MARD

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

NAFIQAD

National Fisheries Quality Assurance and Veterinary Directorate
v


NGOs

Non-Government Organizations

NORAD

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

Oxfam

Oxford Committee for Famine Relief

SQF

Safe Quality Food

VASEP

Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers

Viet GAP

Vietnam Good Agricultural Practices

VINAFIS

Vietnam fisheries Society

VND

Vietnamese Dong

WWF

World Wildlife Fund

vi

Contents
Acknowledgments..................................................................................................................... i
Abstract (in Chinese) ...............................................................................................................ii
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................iii
Abbreviations ........................................................................................................................... v
Contents .................................................................................................................................vii
List of tables ............................................................................................................................. x
List of figures ........................................................................................................................xiii
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
2. Overview of Tiger shrimp and Striped catfish farming in Vietnam .................................... 5
2.1. Biological characteristics of Striped catfish and Tiger shrimp .................................... 5
2.1.1. Biological characteristics of Tiger shrimp ............................................................ 5
2.2. Current status of Tiger shrimp farming ........................................................................ 6
2.2.1. Tiger shrimp farming system ................................................................................ 7
2.2.2. Infrastructure of Tiger shrimp farming zones ....................................................... 8
2.2.3. Input supplying services ....................................................................................... 9
2.2.4. The role of supporters and influencers................................................................ 10
2.3. Current status of Striped catfish farming ................................................................... 14
2.3.1. Striped catfish farming system............................................................................ 14
2.3.2. Infrastructure of Striped catfish farming zones .................................................. 16
2.3.3. Input supplying services ..................................................................................... 16
2.3.4. The role of supporters and influencers................................................................ 19
2.4. Literature Review ....................................................................................................... 23
3. Materials and methods ....................................................................................................... 30
3.1. Description of the study areas .................................................................................... 30
3.1.1. Geographical conditions of the Mekong Delta ................................................... 30
3.1.2. Geographical conditions of Tra Vinh province .................................................. 31
3.2. Sampling and Data collection..................................................................................... 33
3.2.1. Sampling sites .................................................................................................... 33

3.2.2. Data sources ....................................................................................................... 33
3.3. Variables definition .................................................................................................... 34
vii


3.4. Data processing and analysis ...................................................................................... 35
3.4.1. Cost and return analysis ...................................................................................... 35
3.4.2. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) .................................................. 36
3.4.3. Principle component analysis ............................................................................. 37
3.4.4. Canonical correlation analysis ............................................................................ 37
3.4.5. Cobb Douglas production function analysis ....................................................... 38
4. Results and discussions ...................................................................................................... 39
4.1. Simple comparative analysis in Tiger shrimp and Striped catfish farming ............... 39
4.1.1. Tiger shrimp farming .......................................................................................... 39
4.1.1.1. Comparative analysis of biological indicators in Tiger shrimp farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 39
4.1.1.2. Comparative analysis of production costs in Tiger shrimp farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 40
4.1.1.3. Comparative analysis of financial indicators in Tiger shrimp farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 45
4.1.1.4. Comparative analysis of profitabilities in Tiger shrimp farming systems . 46
4.1.2. Striped catfish farming........................................................................................ 47
4.1.2.1. Comparative analysis of biological indicators in Striped catfish
production sites........................................................................................................ 47
4.1.2.2. Comparative analysis of production costs in Striped catfish production
sites .......................................................................................................................... 49
4.1.2.3. Comparative analysis of financial indicators in Striped catfish production
sites .......................................................................................................................... 52
4.1.2.4. Comparative analysis of profitabilities in Striped catfish production sites 53
4.2. Principle component analysis in Tiger shrimp and Striped catfish farming .............. 55

4.2.1. Principle component analysis of production costs in Tiger shrimp farming
systems .......................................................................................................................... 55
4.2.2. Principle component analysis of profitabilities in Tiger shrimp farming
systems .......................................................................................................................... 58
4.2.3. Principle component analysis of production costs in Striped catfish
production sites ............................................................................................................. 62
viii


4.2.4. Principle component analysis of profitabilities in Stripe catfish production
sites ............................................................................................................................... 64
4.3. Canonical correlation analysis in Tiger shrimp and Striped catfish farming ............. 67
4.3.1. Canonical correlation analysis between two groups of biological and input
intensity variables in Tiger shrimp farming .................................................................. 67
4.3.2. Canonical correlation analysis between two groups of biological and
profitability variables in Tiger shrimp farming ............................................................ 69
4.3.3. Canonical correlation analysis between two groups of biological and
production cost variables in Striped catfish farming .................................................... 70
4.3.4. Canonical correlation analysis between two groups of biological and
profitability variables in Striped catfish farming .......................................................... 72
4.4. Statistical analysis of Cobb Douglas production function in Tiger shrimp and
Striped catfish farming ...................................................................................................... 73
4.4.1. Statistical analysis of Cobb Douglas production function in Tiger shrimp
farming .......................................................................................................................... 73
4.4.2. Statistical analysis of Cobb Douglas production function in Striped catfish
farming .......................................................................................................................... 74
5. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 76
5.1. Tiger shrimp farming.................................................................................................. 76
5.2. Striped catfish farming ............................................................................................... 77
References .............................................................................................................................. 79

Appendix .............................................................................................................................. 127

ix


List of tables
Table 1. Summary of the biological variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 88
Table 2. A correlation matrix of biological variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three
farming systems ...................................................................................................... 89
Table 3. Statistics of input intensities (VND thousand/ha/crop) for Tiger shrimp ponds in
three farming systems ............................................................................................. 90
Table 4. Average economic efficiency indicators for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 91
Table 5. Statistics of input intensities (VND thousand/ha/crop) for Tiger shrimp ponds in
three farming systems ............................................................................................. 92
Table 6. Statistics of profitability variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 93
Table 7. One-way MANOVA of input costs and varied profitabilities for Tiger shrimp
ponds in three culture systems ................................................................................ 93
Table 8. A correlation matrix of input intensities for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming
systems .................................................................................................................... 94
Table 9. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors computed from a correlation matrix of input
intensities for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems .................................. 95
Table 10. A correlation matrix of varied profitabilities for Tiger shrimp ponds in three
farming systems ...................................................................................................... 96
Table 11. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors computed from a correlation matrix of varied
profitabilities for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems............................. 97
Table 12. Background information of respondents interviewed in three Tiger shrimp
farming systems ...................................................................................................... 98

Table 13. Water environment parameters following months at shrimp culture places in
Tra Vinh province ................................................................................................... 99
Table 14. Correlations between input intensity and biological variables for Tiger shrimp
ponds in three farming systems............................................................................. 100
Table 15. Analysis of canonical correlation between input intensity and biological
variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems .................................. 100
x


Table 16. Correlations between studied variables (biological and input intensity variables)
and canonical variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems ........... 101
Table 17. Correlations between varied profitability and biological variables for Tiger
shrimp ponds in three farming systems ................................................................ 102
Table 18. Analysis of canonical correlation between varied profitability and biological
variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems .................................. 102
Table 19. Correlations between studied variables (biological and profitability variables)
and canonical variables for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems ........... 103
Table 20. Cobb-Douglas production function estimated by relating unit net return to input
intensities for Tiger shrimp ponds in three farming systems ................................ 103
Table 21. Summary of biological variables for Striped catfish ponds in three production
sites ....................................................................................................................... 104
Table 22. A correlation matrix of biological variables for Striped catfish ponds in three
production sites ..................................................................................................... 105
Table 23. Statistics of the production cost variables (VND thousand/ha/crop) for Striped
catfish ponds in three production sites .................................................................. 106
Table 24. Average economic efficiency indicators for Striped catfish ponds in three
production sites ..................................................................................................... 107
Table 25. Statistics of the production cost variables (VND thousand/ha/crop) for Striped
Catfish ponds in three production sites ................................................................. 108
Table 26. Statistics of the profitability variables (VND thousand/ha/crop) for Striped

Catfish ponds in three production sites ................................................................. 109
Table 27. One-way Manova of input costs and varied profitabilities for Striped catfish
ponds in three production sites ............................................................................. 109
Table 28. A correlation matrix of input intensities for Striped Catfish ponds in three
production sites ..................................................................................................... 110
Table 29. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors computed from a correlation matrix of input
intensities for Striped catfish ponds in three production sites .............................. 111
Table 30. A correlation matrix of varied profitabilities for Striped catfish ponds in three
production sites ..................................................................................................... 112

xi


Table 31. The eigenvalues and eigenvectors computed from a correlation matrix of
various profitabilites for Striped catfish ponds in three production sites ............. 113
Table 32. Background information of the respondents interviewed in three Striped catfish
production sites ..................................................................................................... 114
Table 33. Correlations between the biological and production cost variables for Striped
catfish ponds in three production sites .................................................................. 114
Table 34. Analysis of canonical correlations between biological and production cost
variables for Striped catfish ponds in three production sites ................................ 115
Table 35. Correlations between studied variables (biological and production cost
variables) and canonical variables for Striped catfish ponds in three production
sites ....................................................................................................................... 116
Table 36. Correlations between the biological and profitability variables for Striped
catfish ponds in three production sites .................................................................. 116
Table 37. Analysis of canonical correlations between biological and profitability
variables for Striped catfish ponds in three production sites ................................ 117
Table 38. Correlations between studied variables (biological and profitability variables)
and canonical variables for Striped catfish ponds in three production sites ......... 118

Table 39. Cobb – Douglas function estimated by relating unit net return to input
intensities for Striped catfish ponds in three production sites .............................. 118

xii


List of figures
Figure 1. Map of Mekong River Delta, Vietnam .............................................................. 119
Figure 2. Map of Tra Vinh province, Vietnam ................................................................. 120
Figure 3. Location of surveyed Tiger shrimp farms in Tra Vinh province, Vietnam ....... 121
Figure 4. Location of surveyed Striped catfish farms in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam ..... 122
Figure 5. Distribution of 135 Tiger shrimp farms in three farming systems based on 2
principle components (I1and I2) as functions of standardized input intensity
variables. ............................................................................................................... 123
Figure 6. Distribution of the of 135 Tiger shrimp farms in three farming systems based on
2 principle components (P1and P2) as functions of the standardized varied
profitabilities. ........................................................................................................ 124
Figure 7. Distribution of 120 Striped catfish ponds in three production sites based on 2
principal components (Z1 and Z2) as functions of standardized input intensity
variables. ............................................................................................................... 125
Figure 8. Distribution of 120 Striped catfish ponds in three production sites based on 2
principal components (I1 and I2) as functions of the standardized varied
profitabilities. ........................................................................................................ 126

xiii


1. Introduction
Viet Nam, which is located in Southeast Asia, is a coastal country with many
favorable conditions such as 3,260 km of coastline, 12 lagoons, straits, bays, 112

estuaries, canals, thousands of small and big islands scattered along the coast. Inland, an
interlacing network of rivers, canals, irrigation and hydroelectric reservoirs has created a
great potential of water surface with an area of about 1,700,000 ha (Nguyen, 2003). Each
of the three regions of the country has its own characteristics on climate and weather.
However, all are dominated by the tropical monsoons cycles, which has created favorable
conditions for aquaculture and fisheries development with many species and culture
types. Fisheries and aquaculture have played an essential role in the Vietnamese economy
and has provided economic benefits at the national, regional, community and household
levels.
The policy of the Vietnamese Government aims to guide the seafood sector towards
a leading world position as seafood exporter and is set out in the fisheries development
strategy plan to 2020 (MARD, 2006). The focus of the Vietnamese Government is on
increasing aquaculture production through diversification while the focus for capture
fisheries is on protecting fisheries resources. Tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) and
Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypopthalmus) are two of the most important species
currently being cultured commercially in Vietnam.
Tiger shrimp farming has developed mainly in the last decade, especially since the
Governmental Resolution No.09/NQ-CP dated 15th June 2000 which allows transferring
ineffectively used agricultural land to aquaculture development (Binh et al., 2005). Tiger
shrimp area increased from 250,000 ha in 2000 to 478,000 ha in 2001 (Cao, 2007) and
attained 619,400 ha in 2012 (Fistenet, 2013). Although the recent introduction of the
Pacific white leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) is increasing rapidly, the Tiger shrimp
is still the dominant species cultured in Vietnam (Pham, 2010; Duijn, 2012) . In 2010, the
export value of Tiger shrimp was 1.4 billion US$ (116,160 tons) of total 2.1 billion US$
(240,000 tons) of shrimp export (VASEP, 2010). In 2011, the Tiger shrimp production
reached 319.206 tons and the export value of 1.43 billion US$, occupied 60% of shrimp
export turnover (VASEP, 2011).
1

Commercial Striped catfish culture in the Mekong Delta has been popularized since
the success of artificial fry production techniques in 1996 and the development of the fry
hatchery sector in 1998 (Le and Le, 2010). In general, there has been an annual average
growth in farming area, raw fish production, export production and export value of
1.69%, 10.15%, 26.18% and 19.89%, respectively, in the period from 2006 to 20101. In
2010, Striped catfish production in the Mekong Delta was 1,141,000 tons, accounting for
42.15% of total aquaculture products produced by Vietnam (MARD, 2010).
Good bio-physical conditions, improved farming techniques and growth of
international markets are the main reasons for the broad spread of culturing these species.
Vietnam becomes one of the largest shrimp and catfish exporters in the world and its
products are present at supermarkets of more than 150 countries, including very high-end
market in developed countries (VASEP, 2010; Suzuki, 2013). The industries provided
approximately 180,000 jobs (NACA, 2010).
Although having a competitive advantage and being able to overcome bottlenecks,
Striped catfish and Tiger shrimp farming has often been unsustainable and the balance
between supply and demand in these industries seldom remains stable. The industries
have also been harmed by negative publicity (FAO Globefish, 2011; Bush, 2011).
Vietnam are included as one of the lowest performing countries on the management of
food quality, safety and sanitation and the rate of rejected fisheries products at ports of
European Union, United State and Japan is quite high (Suzuki, 2013). Although the
productions of shrimp and catfish are increasing, economic return from unit area is
decreasing due to increasing in feed, fuel, electricity costs, dropping in price of products
(MOFI, 2006; FAO, 2011a), disease outbreaks, polluted water environment (Pham, 2008;
Tran, 2012), and poor quality seed (Duijn, 2012; Suzuki, 2013). Farmers have not been
able to predict the profitability of their products and almost entirely dependent on the
purchasing price offered by processors and exporters (Belton et al., 2011). In addition,
many expenses to acquire the necessary certification required by importing countries,
many farmers lack the capital to continue farming (FAO, 2011a). Consequently, 40% of
the Striped catfish farming areas in the Delta had been abandoned by 2011 (CL-FISH,

1

Data summarized from annual reports of MARD and VASEP

2


2011).
Production costs such as fixed cost (farm construction, equipment costs, salary,
etc.) and variable costs (seed, feed, labor, etc.) and biological parameters like stocking
density and survival rate are major factors affecting profitability. Besides, production scale
and geographical location are also very important factors relating to outputs. An efficient
management from both sides is necessary to maximize the farming profit. The analysis of
cost and return can therefore provide such improvement for farming management (Miao
and Huang, 2002).
For Tiger shrimp farming, Shang (1990) and EC (2002) mentioned that the fixed
costs and variable costs per hectare increased alongside the intensification level and the
percentage of fixed cost was normally decreased with increasing production scale. In
terms of structure, fixed costs represented no more than 10 to 20% of total costs. Among
these costs, pond construction and pumping costs were the principal ones for extensive or
traditional culture systems, representing 40% of investment cost. For more intensive
systems, pond construction cost ranged from 10 to 20% as other equipment costs
increased (paddle wheel as 30%; pumping and sluice about 20%). Significant reduction
in the use of feed was a feature to distinguish extensive farms from semi-intensive and
intensive farms (Ling et al., 1999). Chanratchakool (2002) and FAO (2011b) indicated
feed cost amounted to 45-50% production cost for semi-intensive and intensive farming
systems with high yield and the FCR below 2.0 was necessary for a profitable farm.
For Striped catfish farming, according to Nguyen et al. (2007) and Le and Le (2010),
production costs increased gradually from traditional to semi-intensive and finally to
intensive systems. Feed and fingerling inputs were major costs of total production costs.

The feed cost accounted for the highest percentage, ranging from 75% to 86.51% and the
fingerling cost contributed to the second largest percentage, ranging from 11.35% to 12% of
the production costs in Striped catfish farming in Vietnam. Ahmed (2007) showed that the
feed and labor costs were very important inputs, accounting for 71.7% and 8.1% of total
production costs, respectively, in three Striped catfish farming systems in Bangladesh. An
increase in the total quantity of feed associating with the stocking density and pond water
depth significantly positively affected on the yield of Striped Catfish in pond. In addition,
3


the productivity was optimal when the ponds obtained (1) pond water depth of 4-5 m; (2)
stocking density of 45-60 fingerlings/m2; (3) efficient use of chemicals/drugs; (4)
manufactured feed quantity of 800-1,000 tones/ha/crop (FCR about 1.6); (6) stocking
duration of 5-7 months; and (7) fish size of 1.0kg at the harvest (Nguyen, 2007; Phan
2009).
The geographical location has an impact on Striped catfish production effectiveness
in the Mekong Delta. The yield, production cost and net return of catfish ponds in inland
provinces and near main rivers were significant higher than catfish ponds in coastal
provinces and channels (Phan 2009 and Le 2010). The fingerling cost in downstream
provinces was usually higher than upstream provinces because the downstream provinces
were farther away from nursery farms (Phan et al., 2009). Upstream and middlestream
sites normally suffered from annual flooding in the rainy season. Fish escaping and
epidemic disease had significantly reduced farmers’ income (Truong et al., 2009). The
flooding also caused erosion of aquaculture systems at upstream and middlestream sites
where fishponds had to be located on higher ground and had to be built more solidly than
was necessary downstream (MARD, 2006).
The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of three production systems
on costs and returns of the Tiger shrimp farming as well as the influence of three
geographical locations on costs and returns of the Striped catfish grow-out business in the
Mekong Delta, Vietnam. In addition, there is the related variables taken at each farm in

response to the research purpose. The variables are random and interrelated in such a way
that their different effects cannot meaningfully be interpreted if they are separate.
Statistical analyses are therefore done by multivariate techniques. The whole point of a
multivariate analysis is to consider several random variables related simultaneously. Based
on the results, suggestions on improving the farming management to increase the
productivity will finally be proposed.

4


2. Overview of Tiger shrimp and Striped catfish farming in
Vietnam
2.1. Biological characteristics of Striped catfish and Tiger shrimp
2.1.1. Biological characteristics of Tiger shrimp
Penaeus monodon, which also known by other common name Tiger shrimp, is
classified from
Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Arthropoda

Subphylum:

Crustacea

Class:

Malacostraca

Order:

Decapoda

Suborder:

Dendrobranchiata

Family:

Penaeidae

Genus:

Penaeus

Species:

P. monodon

(Fabricius, 1798)

P. monodon inhabits the coasts of Australia, South East Asia, South Asia and East
Africa. Depending on substratum, feed and water turbidity, body colors vary from green,
brown, red, grey, blue and transverse band colors on abdomen and carapace are alternated
between blue or black and yellow. Adults may reach 33 cm in length and females are
commonly larger than males (FAO, 2011b).
Additionally, P. monodon mature and breed only in tropical marine habitats and

spend their larval, juvenile, adolescent and sub-adult stages in coastal estuaries, lagoons
or mangrove areas. In the wild, they show marked nocturnal activity, burrowing into
bottom substratum during the day and emerging at night to search for food as benthic
feeders. Under natural conditions, P. monodon is more of a predator than an omnivorous
scavenger or detritus feeder than other Penaeid shrimp. After molting, the new shell is
still soft which causes prawns to become vulnerable and they may subsequently be eaten
5


by their predators or companions. Adults are often found over muddy sand or sandy
bottoms at 20-50 m depth in offshore waters. Wild male posse spermatozoa from around
35 g body weight and females become gravid from 70 g (FAO, 2011b). P. monodon has a
tolerance of a wide range of salinity values from 1 ‰ to 57 ‰ (Chen, 1990) and a
suitable salinity range of 10‰ to 35 ‰ (Liao, 1986).
2.1.2. Biological characteristics of Striped catfish
Pangasianodon hypopthalmus which also known by other common name Striped
catfish or Tra, is classified from
Kingdom:

Animalia

Phylum:

Chordata

Class:

Actinopterygii

Order:

Siluriformes

Family:

Pangasiidae

(Bleeker, 1858)

Striped catfish (Pangasius hypophthalmus) is one of the major fish species in the
Mekong River fishery. This is a highly migratory, riverine fish species and its life cycle is
intimately tied to the annual monsoon flood cycle. The fish makes long-distance
migrations over several hundred kilometers between upstream refuge and spawning
habitats (in the dry season) and downstream feeding and nursery habitats (in the monsoon
season). The fish is omnivorous, feeding on algae, higher plants, zooplankton, insects,
fruits, crustaceans and small fish. Typically living environment of this fish is the
benthopelagic zone within a pH range 6.5-7.5 and temperature of 22-26°C. Mature fish
can reach a maximum standard total length of 130 cm and up to 44 kg in weight. Females
take at least three years to reach sexual maturity in captivity (being then over 3 kg in
weight), while males often mature in their second year. The spawning habitat consists of
rapids and sandbanks interspersed with deep rocky channels and pools. The eggs are
sticky eggs and are deposited onto the exposed root systems of rheophilic tree species
like Gimenila asiatica (FAO, 2011a).

2.2. Current status of Tiger shrimp farming
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2.2.1. Tiger shrimp farming system
Tiger shrimp farming system in the Mekong Delta is technically diverse. In 2007,

the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) classified shrimp culture
system into three different levels based on inputs and production intensity – extensive,
semi-extensive and intensive systems. In practice, these terms are ill-defined, reflecting a
broad and continually changing spectrum of systems that vary according to how
intensively they use different resources (capital, labor, skills, land, water, seed, feed, fuel,
and equipment).
The blackish shrimp farming area gained 595,000 ha, accounting for 90% of the
country’s total shrimp area in 2014 (DOF, 2015). Most of these farms (about 92% of the
total Tiger shrimp production area) are concentrated in the South of Vietnam in the
Provinces Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh. The area
covered by extensive and semi-intensive shrimp farms amounts to approximately 550,000
hectares, accounting for 89.8% of the total area under Tiger shrimp culture. Ca Mau
Province accounts for 253,300 hectares and is considered to be the largest area for
extensive and semi-intensive shrimp farming. The yield of extensive shrimp farming
ranges from 0.3 to 0.6 tons/ha/cycle. The yield of semi-intensive farming ranges from 0.8
to 1.0 tons/ha/cycle. The area under intensive culture of Tiger shrimp is estimated at
about 62,845 hectares, concentrated in the Provinces Soc Trang and Bac Lieu. The
production of shrimp from intensive culture systems is estimated at about 192,769 tons
per annum. The average yield of intensive shrimp farming ranges from 2.4 to 6.5
tons/ha/cycle (Duijn et al., 2012)
Most shrimp farming systems are owned by small-scale farmers and their shrimp
ponds are located in available sites rather than suitable sites. The small-scale operators
often lack the ability to take on the responsibility for following legal regulations or
technical standards because of their poor economic situation or (and) low education, with
77% of the shrimp farmers educated at a primary school level (Pham, 2008). They
usually tend to focus on the short-term benefit at the more exploitation on natural
environment, even they understand that they will face serious challenges in the future.

7

Redundant feed and wastes without being treated are released directly into natural
environment that cause river pollution, coastal inhabitation destruction, biodiversity
reduction, and disease outbreak. The studied result of Pham (2008) in Ben Tre province
showed there were 13.8 % and 100% farmers who did not have a reservoir and a
sediment pond, respectively, although all recognized water quality and disease worsened
more every year
Mangrove forests are still converted illegally into shrimp ponds due to the pressures
of expanding shrimp areas and increasing population although the forests are widely
recognized as being unsuitable for shrimp aquaculture development. Using chemicals and
pharmaceuticals in shrimp ponds have not been controlled tightly both authorities and
farmers in many culture areas. Some poor quality chemicals and medicines supported by
false claims are still marketed to and used by farmers. In fact, 40% of farmers used
chemicals, antibiotics (including forbidden agents such as chloramphenicol, ethoxyquin
and sulfamethoxazole) for shrimp ponds when diseases occurred and 100 % of farmers
used chemicals, drugs for water treatment in shrimp growing period with excessive doses
that could affect to human health and environment detriment (Pham, 2008).
2.2.2. Infrastructure of Tiger shrimp farming zones
The shrimp culture zoning are often unplanned or poorly designed in Vietnam. Most
of the shrimp culture areas have used the existing irrigation systems planned for rice
farming; therefore, they do not meet technical requirements for shrimp farming. The
irrigation system is only one water channel for both water supply and discharge purposes.
Thus, waste water from one pond may be taken into another pond nearby, and disease
pathogens may become epidemic within a region. The road system of the shrimp culture
areas are underdeveloped, especially remote and coastal regions, which has caused
difficulties for input and output materials transportation and increasing production costs.
Although national electrical system covered over the shrimp culture areas, farmers still
use diesel energy for operating padding wheel and pumping devices, because electrical
power is usually turned off and a static electrical device (transformer) is too expensive.
Despite all the farmers know benefits of sediment ponds and reservoirs for sustainable

shrimp farming, most of the farms have not these ponds due to less production land and
8


high construction capital (Pham, 2008).
2.2.3. Input supplying services
There are four main inputs being supplied to the shrimp farms subsector: 1) seed, 2)
feed, 3) chemicals and medicines and 4) equipment. In general these inputs are sold
through two marketing channels: 1) directly from the producer to large-scale farmers or
2) through local distributors who are often middlemen who also provide working capital
and harvest services. The way in which farmers purchase their inputs depends on their
financial situation. Farmers with sufficient financial resources will buy directly from the
producers for a slightly better price, while those with a lack of financial resources will
buy through traders and pay a slightly higher price.
Seed
There are about 80% of the hatcheries located in South Central Vietnam, accounting
for 70% of all the seed amount of the country (Fistenet, 2013). In recent years, many
hatcheries relocated to the Mekong Delta Region to be closer to their buyers (i.e. shrimp
farmers).
It is estimated that in 2010 local hatchery production supplied about 58.8% of the
total demand for Tiger shrimp seed, the remainder of the local demand was imported
from neighboring countries such as China and Thailand. Hatcheries breed shrimp and
produce young larvae or even post larvae which are sold to shrimp farms (Duijn et al.,
2012).
In Vietnam, shrimp hatcheries can be separated into small and large hatcheries. It is
argued that especially the quality of seeds from small hatcheries - which are often
privately owned while the large hatcheries are often state owned - are too low and are one
of the reasons behind the high mortality rates in shrimp production. Most privately owned
hatcheries are small-scale farms with poor infrastructure conditions, unstable production
technology, brood-stock spawning multiple times, using a great number of antibiotics and

chemicals and lack of strict quarantine. While large hatcheries take care of the entire
breeding process and hatcheries are certificated by MARD about SQF and Global GAP
standards and supply better quality seeds only few. These lead too many farmers must
9


purchase poor quality seed from privately owned hatcheries (Suzuki and Vu, 2013).
Additionally, some hatcheries in the central provinces import illegally brood-stock and
seed sources which are cheap price but poor quality from China (Viet People newspaper,
2013). In comparison with shrimp production in Thailand, success rate in the shrimp
farming in Vietnam reached 30 percent, lower than that of Thailand (70 percent) because
Vietnam’ supply and quality of seed were poor (VASEP, 2012).
Feed
In Vietnam, the weakness of the shrimp sector is that the feed price is 15-20%
higher compared to other countries (Nguyen and Huynh, 2010). The main reason is that
60% of shrimp feed production is controlled by foreign companies (e.g. CP, Grobest,
Uni-president, Concopro, etc.). The high production cost is also caused by the lack of
locally available feed ingredients. According to MARD (2010), 2.4 million tons of feed
was consumed in the Vietnamese aquaculture sector, 50% of the necessary inputs to
produce this amount of feed had to be imported.
Medicines and chemicals
Medicines and chemicals are often distributed through local feed traders and retail
shops. However, farmers can also easily purchase medicines at local pharmacies which
are not approved for use in food production. This may cause severe issues in the export
markets.
Equipment
Equipment for shrimp farming is mostly sold through local warehouses that sell
inputs for the agricultural sector.
2.2.4. The role of supporters and influencers
Middlemen and transporters

In Vietnam, middlemen play a crucial role in the shrimp farming sector. Small
farmers not only depend on middlemen for the farm inputs such as seed, feed and
working capital, but also depend on middlemen for harvesting the shrimp and marketing
it to the processors and exporters. This position in the supply chain gives middlemen a lot
of power and influence in the sector. The interest of middlemen to make the supply chain
10