Loach prices remain persistently low, and farming scale in Suqian, Jiangsu is likely to shrink after the Chinese New Year

After the Spring Festival, loach prices in the Suqian area of Jiangsu still have not improved. Because farming costs are relatively high, many farmers are operating at a loss, and it is estimated that quite a few people will exit loach farming after the Chinese New Year.

Compared with last week, loach prices in the Suqian area have generally remained stable, and the persistently sluggish situation has not eased. Data from the loach price direct channel of the China Aquaculture Network show that on February 17, in the Suqian area of Jiangsu, the purchase price of green loach at 20 fish per jin was 20 yuan/jin, loach at 30 fish per jin was 18 yuan/jin, loach at 40 fish per jin was 16.5 yuan/jin, loach at 50 fish per jin was 15.5 yuan/jin, yellow loach at 20 fish per jin was 17 yuan/jin, yellow loach at 30 fish per jin was 16 yuan/jin, and yellow loach at 40 fish per jin was 15 yuan/jin.

It is understood that at present loach from the Suqian area is mainly shipped to markets in southern Jiangsu and Shanghai. Although prices have consistently been none too good, after the Spring Festival farmers have not been selling loach particularly slowly, "“mainly because some farmers are thinking of exiting farming, so they hurry to sell out. Once they finish selling the loach on hand, it will just about be time for temperatures to rise again, and they plan to switch to raising other species”." Loach farmers in the Suqian area mainly stock wild loach fry. Last year the average price of loach fry was above 20 yuan per jin. Calculated at 1,000 jin of loach fry stocked per mu, the cost of loach fry alone comes to more than 20,000 yuan per mu. Add in earlier infrastructure investment and expenses for feed, medicine and so on, and the overall farming cost is relatively high. But by the end of the year the selling price of finished loach was unsatisfactory, putting especially great pressure on farmers. Some farmers had already "“cut their losses”" before the Chinese New Year and sold their loach, choosing "“a short pain over a long one”."

In winter and spring, after temperatures rise, the most common disease in loach farming is water mold. Farmers should do regular disinfection work, and disinfection work is best carried out in clear, fine weather, as the disinfection effect will be somewhat better this way.