Foreign fish breeders slipping the net

Foreign fish breeders slipping the net

Ten foreigners who raise tilapia (panin) in the Nam Ngum River in Xaythany district, Vientiane, have failed to register with the district authorities after they were invited to do so.

District Governor Mr Xonglao Yongnou told Vientiane Times last Friday that the district authorities invited 13 foreigners who illegally operate fish farms in the Nam Ngum to register their business under Lao law.
“We offered those concerned four months to complete their registration, but after the four month period expired last month, only three foreigners had registered,” he said.

Xaythany authorities will next write to the Vientiane authorities about what action to take against the unlicensed fish farmers.

The foreigners started raising tilapia in the Nam Ngum River two years ago, because this kind of fish has become more popular in both restaurants and homes in Laos.

Each of the fish farmers has between 60 to 120 cages of tilapia, which they sell year round to traders in Vientiane.
Head of the Lao Fish Breeding Group in Vientiane, Mr Kanechanh Thailavanh, said there were 78 families who raised this species of fish in Vientiane from 2006 to 2011.

During this period, 18 to 20 tonnes of fish was sold daily in markets in Vientiane and some provinces.
Consumers in Vientiane were happy with the fish, the suppliers were satisfied with their business, and the prices were good for all concerned.

But now, more than 20 fish farmers in Vientiane have seen their businesses collapse as the price of the fish has fallen, Mr Kanechanh said.

The capital required to raise tilapia is about 15,000 kip per kilogramme, he said, but now the fish are being sold to markets in Vientiane for as low as 13,000 kip per kilogramme.

The price has dropped since the foreigners took up fish farming, and they are now keeping more than 1,000 cages of fish in the Nam Ngum River.

“As this fish is oversupplied in Vientiane markets nowadays, it’s not the fish traders competing to buy fish from the breeders. Rather the breeders need to compete in terms of the prices they offer the fish traders, who can help them to sell their fish,” Mr Kanechanh said.

Ms Sangthong Xayavanh, a fish trader in Huakua market in Vientiane, told Vientiane Times that she buys about 30 kilogrammes of fish at a time from middle traders.

She buys the fish for 15,000 kip per kilogramme and sells them for 17,000 kip per kilogramme. Some days she sells all her stock, but on other days she has some left over

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