HA NOI — Price of keo (mud skipper) fish, a popular Mekong Delta treat, have risen again following a recent rumour that the fish could be harmful to people was confirmed to be baseless.
The price increased to VND60,000 (US$3) per kg of keo fish since Monday, VND10,000 ($0.5) higher than a couple of weeks ago, during the height of the rumour-mongering.
To Thanh Diep, a trader in southern most Ca Mau Province, said consumers started to buy the fish again after the fish received a clean bill of health.
Farmer Nguyen Van Phong in Dam Doi District said he had received a contract to sell his fish at VND10,000-higher than previous days.
"I can now harvest 18 tonnes of fish per hectare and the price increase is like to bring good profits," he said.
"However, the current price remains too low, just a third of its previous price," said Nguyen Cong Quoc from the province's Department of Fisheries Resources Management.
The rumour triggered a drastic fall in the price of the fish.
Prior to the malicious rumour, keo fish were sold at VND200,000 (US$9.5) per kilo and was set to keep on increasing until the Tet holiday, he said.
The rumour started in Ca Mau Province and then quickly spread across the Mekong Delta region, hitting thousands of fish farmers. It is estimated that around 250 tonnes of keo fish in coastal provinces in the region could not be sold as a result of the consumer boycott.
Heads of agriculture and rural development department of localities in the region instructed relevant agencies to promptly work to counter the rumour, which had dramatically affected farmers.
Quoc affirmed that there was no scientific foundation proving that the fish contained toxic chemicals that caused cancer among humans.
In fact, fish raisers used food and medicines as permitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Quoc said. — VNS
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