Farmers check crab cages in a pond in Tanintharyi Division.

COMPANIES producing soft-shell crabs in Tanintharyi Division say business is flourishing because of growing international demand for the seafood delicacy.

The Aung Myat Phyo International Co, which farms soft-shell crabs on an island off the divisional capital, Myeik, says it produces at least 180 tonnes a year, most of which is exported to China.

The company is one of two with operations on Pa Thaw Pa Htet Island, where the farms were established in 2004.

The company’s manager, U Aung Myint, says it farms the crustaceans in 11 ponds, each of 100 square metres, which can house nearly 700,000 crabs. The crabs are raised in individual cages, with 63,000 cages to a pond.

The cages are checked around the clock by the company’s 300 employees and when the crabs moult, they are removed from the cages and placed in fresh water, which prevents their shells from hardening. The crabs moult between 45 to 90 days after being placed in the cages.

U Aung Myint said the company uses mud crabs, which it buys from locals for between K2500 and K3500, and raises them in the ponds until they reach the desired size.

“We educate the villages in the sustainable use of the crabs because we have a responsibility to maintain this resource,” he said.

“When we first started this business, we did not buy under-sized crabs. Now we buy what they sell and raise them in our ponds because otherwise the small ones may die as the catchers would discard them.”

U Aung Myint said the company produces about 15 tons a month during the rainy season and about 18 tons a month at other times of the year.

When the crabs are harvested, they are wrapped in thin plastic and frozen. “This ensures that they remain fresh and delicious,” U Aung Myint said.

“This business is good for the country because it earns foreign exchange and it is also good for local people because we can create many job opportunities,” he said.