Soft-shell crab farming thrives in Gwa

By Admin 30 Aug 2023

DMG Newsroom
30 August 2023, Gwa

The soft-shell crab business is thriving in Arakan State’s Gwa Township, with soft-shell crabs being exported to foreign markets.

GW Nine Five (SSC Crab) Company started making soft-shell crabs in April of last year. It currently raises 400,000 crabs, said operation manager U Than Zaw Oo.

“Sometimes we can’t get enough crabs [to make soft-shell crabs] because of the weather. We don’t use chemicals in farming soft-shell crabs. We farm them naturally. Locals have got jobs at our farms. We also have a plan to expand our business,” he said.

Soft-shell crabs are just regular crabs without their hard shells. Crabs molt to get rid of the old shell as they grow. Normally, crabs shed their shells approximately every 45 days. When they molt, the skin on their bodies start to harden into a soft shell. They are put in salt water which makes their soft shells harder. To prevent the shells from getting hard, the crabs are removed from the salt water within an hour or two of molting, and put into fresh water.

The company exports soft-shell crabs to foreign markets through Yangon.

As the business is brisk, young local people have got jobs at the company, said Ko Nay Lin Tun, who is working at the company. 

“We don’t need to work overseas as we can work there. We can live together with our families, and we have a regular income. It is important to have many more companies like this,” he said.

Due to the scarcity of job opportunities in Arakan State, many local people in their 20s and 30s have left the state to work overseas, resulting in so-called brain drain. People have called on authorities to establish factories and workshops in Arakan State so that local people can work closer to home.

Besides Gwa, Kyaukphyu, Ponnagyun and Sittwe townships also engage in soft-shell crab farming.