A subsidiary of Minh Phu, Vietnam's largest shrimp exporter, is getting serious about farming not shrimp but 'mitten crab.' In the Nam Cuong district of Hung Yen province, Minh Phu International (MICFOOD) is raising a freshwater crab called cà ra across 108 hectares of water. This species is the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis), the same species as Shanghai hairy crab, the premium ingredient of Chinese cuisine, and it is also a close relative of the mitten crab (mokuzugani) that lives in Japan's rivers. Amid turbulence from shrimp anti-dumping reviews and price crashes, Minh Phu, the largest shrimp exporter, which set up a large processing plant in Ca Mau province is deliberately betting on a high-unit-price commodity outside its field. For Japanese seafood buyers, this move could be a harbinger of a new procurement source that pokes into the Shanghai-hairy-crab gap.
108 ha, 30 tonnes a year, a margin of 35–40% — the numbers
The figures MICFOOD disclosed are eye-catching for a farming business. Its own farming area is 108 hectares, of which about 75 hectares are operating. Added to this are over 30 hectares linked with farmers. Market-crab output in 2025 exceeded 30 tonnes.
The selling price is 600,000–700,000 dong per kg. Converting 10,000 dong at about 60 yen, that comes to 3,600–4,200 yen. The margin after deducting costs is said to be 35–40%, a figure with a sense of stability given the current state in which shrimp farming swings between losses and profits with price fluctuations. Chairman Tran Van Van says, 'For much of the time, supply cannot keep up with demand,' and inquiries from abroad are said to reach the scale of several thousand tonnes.
Why the shrimp king chose a crab outside its field
Minh Phu, nicknamed the shrimp king, is Vietnam's largest shrimp exporter, with a sales network in over 50 countries. In 2025, the parent and its subsidiary Minh Phu Hau Giang combined exceeded US$540 million in shrimp exports alone. Even so, management standing on shrimp alone has structural weaknesses: US anti-dumping reviews, worsening yields from disease, saturation of farming ponds, and falling unit prices from global oversupply.
Mitten crab makes up for this weakness. Because it grows in fresh water, it does not compete with the shrimp ponds of salt-damaged land, and its unit price rivals shrimp's premium grades. Examples of major shrimp players in Vietnam extending into new species are not rare, the move in which a major shrimp player turns to tilapia as a new source of white fish is of a piece with this. The idea is to level out both unit price and risk by broadening commodities horizontally.
The breakdown of the farming model, in numbers
Laying out the cost structure and production conditions MICFOOD disclosed brings the crux of this business into view.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Own farming area | 108 ha (of which about 75 ha operating) plus over 30 ha linked with farmers |
| Farming density | About 3 crabs/m² |
| 2025 output | Over 30 tonnes of market crab |
| Market-crab selling price | 600,000–700,000 dong/kg (about 3,600–4,200 yen) |
| Purchase price from farmers | 360,000–420,000 dong/kg (about 2,160–2,520 yen) |
| Profit margin | 35–40% (after cost deduction) |
| Seed-stock cost ratio | 40–45% of total investment |
| Feed cost ratio | 20〜25% |
That seed stock makes up over 40% of total investment is this farming's biggest bottleneck. The structure in which seed stock weighs more than feed is the reverse of shrimp farming and shows that the key to scaling production comes down to how to secure juvenile crabs stably. In the ponds, aquatic plants (a submerged plant called rong đuôi chó in Vietnamese) are planted over 20–30% of the water surface, serving both as hiding places during molting and for water purification.
The seed-stock wall, and the two-pronged approach to breaking it
What has blocked the spread of mitten-crab farming is the supply of juvenile crabs. MICFOOD is trying to break this wall by two methods.
- Partnering technically with a large company in Jiangsu province, China, to bring in seed-production know-how. Jiangsu province is said to be at a level where it can produce about 120,000 juvenile crabs per kilogram of crab fry.
- Domestically, in cooperation with a marine research institute in Hai Phong, it is advancing the domestic production of seed stock. The chairman says the initial results are well received, aiming to break free from import dependence.
- By clearly stating a purchase price from farmers of 360,000–420,000 dong/kg and drawing surrounding farmers into linked production, it is trying to broaden the supply volume itself across an area.
Mitten crab (cà ra) is originally a native premium ingredient naturally distributed in major northern rivers such as the Red River, the Ma River and the Thai Binh River, and because it spawns in the cold of winter, its range is said to run from the north to around the Hai Van Pass in the center. The structure of industrializing through farming a resource that had relied on the wild is a move that resolves the difficulty of predicting supply.
Three points Japanese buyers should grasp
Seen from the standpoint of procurement to Japan, this business has three points that cannot be dismissed as simply the birth of a new crab-producing area.
First, Its positioning as a substitute for Shanghai hairy crab. Cà ra is the same species as Shanghai hairy crab and is a close relative of the mitten crab (mokuzugani) called 'Japan's Shanghai hairy crab' in Japan. This lineage, with its rich crab miso (tomalley), has solid demand at Chinese restaurants and high-end Japanese cuisine. Because domestic mokuzugani is mainly wild-caught and its supply is unstable, a growing area that can predict volume through farming gains value as a partner for arranging year-round procurement for restaurants.
Second, The barrier of live-import regulation. The Chinese mitten crab is designated an invasive alien species in Japan, and importing, transporting or keeping it alive is in principle not allowed. The route to Japan is therefore limited not to live crab but to 'products in a dead state' such as frozen, processed, shelled meat and crab miso. That MICFOOD is under Minh Phu, which is strong in processing, is in fact a tailwind for clearing this barrier. The buyer side, too, should structure negotiations on the premise of asking the growing area for live-killing or frozen primary processing.
Third, How to read the price band. The level of 3,600–4,200 yen per kg for market crab at the growing area falls in the affordable range for a premium ingredient. Even adding transport, processing and tariffs, there is room to set a price at retail more competitive than Shanghai hairy crab. How to procure high-unit-price, scarce seafood is the procurement of Vietnamese clams that European buyers let go of their long-term contracts for As it was also a point there, the more a commodity is small-volume and high-value-added, the more building a direct relationship with the growing area works.
The current reach, and the distance to export
The export destinations the chairman cites are Asian markets such as Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. Against inquiries for several thousand tonnes, 2025 production stays at over 30 tonnes. The gap between demand and supply is large, and for the time being the domestic market will be the main battleground. To put export on a full-scale footing, output needs to be increased by an order of magnitude through domestic seed production and the expansion of linked farmers.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Business entity | Minh Phu International (MICFOOD) / under shrimp major Minh Phu |
| Location | Nam Cuong district, Hung Yen province |
| Covered species | cà ra (Chinese mitten crab / same species as Shanghai hairy crab) |
| Main market for now | Domestic (Vietnam) |
| Export destinations under consideration | Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia |
| Seed-stock securing | Technical partnership with a Jiangsu province company in China plus domestic production with the Hai Phong marine research institute |
Summary — view it as a growing area sowing 'the next after shrimp'
MICFOOD's mitten-crab business is still only at an early stage of 30 tonnes a year. Even so, the structure in which the largest shrimp exporter extends horizontally into a high-unit-price freshwater species with its processing capability as a weapon is worth noting as one example of Vietnamese seafood breaking out of standing on shrimp alone. There are three points Japanese buyers should verify next. First, how far domestic seed production advances and output accumulates. Second, whether the specs for export to Japan as frozen and processed products come together. Third, how much of a price advantage can be built at retail against Shanghai hairy crab and mokuzugani. First, measure this growing area's real strength by requesting samples on a frozen and processed-product premise.
