KENDRAPARA: With dip in demand, the highly lucrative crab farming, which sustains 5,000 residents of seaside villages in the district, has taken a severe hit. Unable to carry their produce to markets, crab traders, exporters and farmers are facing a tough time. “The crab exporters are not interested to buy from us. Usually by this time, the trade gathers pace but the lockdown has made finding an exporter a tough task,” said Nabajyoti Haldar of Kharinashi village.
He said traders purchase crabs from the farmers and supply to exporters in Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. Suspension of exports to China, Singapore, Japan and other countries and air cargo services has only made matters worse. The sharp decline in demand has led to fall in prices in the local markets. While good quality live crabs were sold for `500-`800 per kg earlier, it is now available for `200-`300. Ashok Mana of Talachua village said crab farming is a profitable business but the lockdown has made it tough for farmers like him to survive.
Mud crabs are found in areas with less water and high salinity and the seaside villages of the district provide the perfect environment for rearing them. Bijaya Das of Iswarpur village said he used to purchase crab seeds from Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture at Nagapattinam, Chennai. “Officials of Fisheries department trained us on crab farming. As crabs are reared in natural environment, there is no capital involved,” he said.
Deputy Director of Marine Products Export Development Authority, Bhubaneswar Umesh Mohapatra said the estuaries, ponds and other water bodies in coastal areas of the district are suitable for mud crab culture. “After 25 days of feeding, the crab shells harden and can weigh up to 250 to 500 gram. As the crabs grow in size from tiny seeds, so does the crab farmers’ income. Last year around 23 exporters sent seafood worth around `3,000 crore to markets abroad. But the lockdown and Covid-19 has besmirched their hopes to earn this year,” he said.