Can you make money farming crisp grass carp? Liang Weihao earns 3 million yuan a year

    When it comes to crisp grass carp, diners naturally think of Dongsheng. In fact, besides the Dongsheng crisp grass carp farming base, Dachong Town is also one of the crisp grass carp farming bases in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. The town's crisp grass carp farming area reaches over a thousand mu, and among them the large-scale farmer Liang Weihao alone has a farming area of 500 mu. Calculated at a profit of 4 yuan per kg, he can earn at least 3 million yuan a year.

Business: shifting from trading to farming
    
    Liang Weihao has dealt with crisp grass carp for more than 20 years. Before 1995 , he had always been engaged in the circulation of aquatic products and had not been involved in farming. He specifically purchased crisp grass carp from farmers in Dongsheng Town and other places, then sold them to Hong Kong, China, Macao, China and the domestic market. Over time, Liang Weihao came to realize: "The crisp grass carp purchased from various farmers vary in quality, which not only affects the selling price but may also ruin one's own reputation."

    After weighing the pros and cons, Liang Weihao made a decision: give up the purchasing business and specialize in farming crisp grass carp. In 1995, he rented a stretch of fish ponds at Daxiwei in Antang Village, Dachong Town, purchased a batch of high-quality crisp grass carp varieties, and became a professional farmer. By last year, his crisp grass carp farming area had reached 500 mu, making him a veritable large-scale farmer.

Returns: annual net profit of 3 million yuan

    When talking about farming returns, Liang Weihao is very low-key, saying he merely "earns a little money." From some figures he disclosed, this reporter calculates that his annual net profit reaches at least 3 million yuan. He told reporters that crisp grass carp yields 1500 kg per mu per year, and 500 mu yields 750,000 kg a year. Calculated at a pond-side price of 22 yuan per kg, the profit per kg is 4 yuan, so the profit on 750,000 kg reaches 3 million yuan.

    In fact, Liang Weihao's annual profit is far more than this figure. Liang Weihao adopts a polyculture method, that is, placing a small number of crucian carp, bighead carp and mud carp in the crisp grass carp farming base, and these three species also bring in a considerable income each year.

    Because he has trading experience, Liang Weihao is very familiar with the market. At present, his crisp grass carp is a delicacy on the tables of restaurants such as Luhuayuan in the urban area of our city. In addition, domestically they are mainly sent to markets such as Shenzhen and Dongguan, and a certain quantity is also exported to Hong Kong, China and Macao, China.

Experience: eat broad beans for at least 4 months

    Crisp grass carp is a high-quality live fish produced by raising grass carp under specific environmental conditions with special feed. The difference between the two is that crisp grass carp has softer, smoother and crisper flesh. Therefore, farming crisp grass carp requires a certain knowledge of aquatic products. Liang Weihao revealed that his crisp grass carp farming cycle is 8 months. Apart from eating feed for several months, they eat broad beans for at least 4 months.

    According to the introduction, the crispness of crisp grass carp increases with the number of days of feeding broad beans, and feeding broad beans for 120 days is the minimum number of days. However, in order to save costs, some farmers often sell the fish in less than 120 days, so the crispness of the fish is certainly not enough. At present, the market for crisp grass carp is mainly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta and the Hong Kong, China and Macao, China area, and crisp grass carp is sold in Vietnam, Sichuan, Beijing, Hebei, Hubei and other places.

    Market surveys show that residents in the mainland, the Pearl River Delta, and the Hong Kong, China and Macao, China region have different levels of acceptance of the crispness of crisp grass carp: the mainland requires it to be as crisp as possible, while the Pearl River Delta and the Hong Kong, China and Macao, China region require only ordinary crispness. Shipping ordinarily crisp crisp grass carp to the mainland for sale will affect sales; shipping especially crisp crisp grass carp to the Hong Kong, China and Macao, China market will not suit local tastes and will also lose the market. Therefore, farmers must formulate farming plans according to their own sales markets.

Development: opening its own restaurant to build a brand

    Liang Weihao said that there are now more and more crisp grass carp farmers, and to seize the market and sell at a good price, one must ensure quality and build one's own brand. Therefore, last June, Liang Weihao invested 400,000 yuan to open a Xinbao crisp grass carp restaurant in Nanqu to promote the Xinbao brand to the market.

    According to Liang Weihao, the Xinbao crisp grass carp restaurant can consume 125 kg of crisp grass carp per day, which amounts to 45,000 kg a year. However, Liang Weihao's direct purpose in opening the restaurant is not to make a profit from it, but to continuously improve the quality of crisp grass carp through diners' feedback and build a brand image among diners.