Making dried shrimp in Cà Mau Province. — VNA/VNS Photo Huỳnh Anh

CÀ MAU — Establishments that make dried shrimp in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Cà Mau are operating at full capacity since there is high demand for it during Tết (Lunar New Year), which falls this year on February 12.

Dried shrimp made in the province’s Rạch Gốc Town, U Minh District’s Khánh Hội Commune and Năm Căn Town are well-known nation-wide since they have been making it for more than 100 years.

In the past shrimps were abundant in the province, and, unable to eat them all, locals hit upon the idea of drying them to preserve them.

They use both freshwater and brackish water shrimps for this, with the former considered more delicious and so costing more. But with their output being small, most of the province’s dried shrimps are from brackish water. 

The Tân Phát Lợi Co-operative in Ngọc Hiển District is operating at full capacity for Tết.

It produces around four tonnes of dried shrimp, shrimp chips, fermented shrimp, and fermented mangrove crabs a month in normal time. 

Bùi Văn Chương, director of the co-operative, said production has been increased three-fold during the two months before Tết.

His and many other households use organic shrimps bred in mangrove forests, and are thus more delicious, sweeter and have a beautiful red colour, and are preferred by consumers, he said.

The Cà Mau Trade Promotion and Industry Extension Centre provided the co-operative with an automatic solar - powered dryer in 2019, and that has helped it increase its output of dried shrimps.  

Ngọc Hiển District has more than 40 households making dried shrimps and shrimp chips, according to its Farmers Association.

Lê Ngọc Lâm, chairman of the association, said official agencies regularly inspect the households and penalise those violating food safety standards.

The households produce 20-30 tonnes of dried brackish water shrimps and two to three tonnes of dried organic shrimps a month.

In the district’s Rạch Gốc Town, high demand has pushed up dried shrimp prices to VNĐ900,000, even VNĐ1.5 million (US$39-65), for a kilogramme depend on the variety, VNĐ200,000 more than during normal times.

Dried shrimp eaten with pickled leeks or pickled mustard greens is a popular dish in the south during Tết.

In 2011, the National Office of Intellectual Property granted the ‘Rạch Gốc dried shrimp’ brand name for the district’s dried shrimp.

There are 13 establishments in Ngọc Hiển that use the brand name, according to the Farmers Association. — VNS