Specialties that are hard to compare
Ca Mau crab is a famous specialty, known for its firm, naturally sweet meat and fatty bricks thanks to its rich saline living environment in areas like Nam Can. Ca Mau crab has many types such as meat crab, brick crab, green rice crab ( double skin crab)... each type brings a unique flavor and high nutritional value.
Ca Mau is famous and associated with the brand of " Ca Mau au", "crab gourd" or the largest "crab capital" in the country. According to the explanation of the people, the crabs here are delicious because they are given preferential treatment by nature, are steep, steep areas, very suitable for crab to grow and develop.
Compared to before, the technical process of crab farming in Ca Mau has been increasingly improved, from environmental control, crab health care, adding food in ponds to improving harvesting methods.
Ms. Doan Thi Anh Thu, Executive Director of Vua Cua Trading and Service Joint Stock Company - said that after a long time of preparation, the shipment of Ca Mau crab and processed incense snails has been successfully exported to the US market via official route.
All of the first batches (small quantity, airfares) were sold at 200 points, markets and supermarkets serving the Vietnamese and Asian communities in the US. This is the first batch of orders placed by a partner in the US with a quantity of 21,000 crabs, equivalent to 11 tons, Ms. Thu said. Each kilogram of homemade Ca Mau crab on shelves in the US costs 1.3 million VND.
Focus on investing in developing crabs, promoting exports
In 2025, after merging Bac Lieu province, Ca Mau province will have a crab farming area of nearly 300,000 hectares. Ca Mau crabs are raised in many natural forms such as crab farming combined with other subjects (shrimp - crab - fish, ...). The advantage with a mangrove forest area of more than 80,000 hectares is the ideal environment for the crab industry to develop along with the form of shrimp farming combined under the forest canopy. More importantly, this type of farming is eligible for prestigious certificates in the country and the world such as: Ecological, organic and other certificates (GlobalGAP, naturland, BAP, EU, ASC, Selva Shrimp, VietGAP) with nearly 20,000 hectares, output reaching about 2,000 tons.
Currently, the province has focused on expanding and developing crab farming types and techniques such as: intensive farming, semi-intensive farming, improved rice farming, combined rice farming, crab farming in ponds, cages, crab farming in plastic boxes in the house... initially bringing certain results in yield as well as crab quality.
The Department of Science and Technology of Ca Mau province has supported, built and developed key products, characteristics and potential in general, and crab products in particular to enhance product value and increase competitiveness in the market. At the same time, the Department of Science and Technology has completed the construction of the Ca Mau Province Product traceability Portal.
There are 7 crab products for 7 businesses participating in traceability; nearly 33,000 traceability stamps with QR codes are issued to stick on product packaging. After being granted a certificate of collective trademark protection "Cua Nam Can - Ca Mau" and a geographical indication for "Ca Mau", Nam Can Ca Mau crab was included in the top 100 Vietnamese specialty dishes, increasing its reputation, raising the Ca Mau crab to a new position and strengthening the trust of domestic and foreign consumers in crab products. Thanks to that, Ca Mau crab has gradually reached the international market, contributing to increasing people's income and promoting local economic development. Crab sales increased by 10-20% for units granted the right to use collective trademarks and geographical indications.
Vice Chairman of Ca Mau Provincial People's Committee Le Van Su said that the province is researching and applying sustainable marine crab farming technology, traceability, supporting businesses and farmers to access storage and processing technology. At the same time, the province has promoted trade promotion, fairs, and connected domestic and foreign consumption, aiming to mainly export crab to key markets.
