Ice crabs, frozen pre-ground crabs are sold at a frighteningly cheap price

Although Hanoi has just entered the early days of the hot sun, there are many small traders on the internet market that sell frozen crabs and frozen ready-made ice crabs at startlingly cheap prices, only 75,000-80,000 VND / kg.
Recently, Ms. Tran Thi Hien at the old lane 347, Nhue, Hanoi, regularly sells frozen ready-made ice crabs at a low price that is only half of the market price.

Hien said that these were completely fresh rock crabs that her family members moved from her hometown in Nam Dinh to Hanoi for weekly sales. These crabs are carefully selected by her family members from her hometown, filtered and cleaned and then canned. Each box is usually packed 2.5 ounces. This small trader also advertised: “Although this is a cultured stone crab, the house was cleaned, separated from shells, split bibs, star fruit bags, especially no additives, no preservatives, no mixing with rice bran and self. canned grinds should eat well and lots of meat and bricks are delicious. Each 1 kg of rock crabs my family sells for 75,000 VND, divided into 4 boxes. Each box includes 1 bag of crab bricks. If you eat 2 kg of crab or more, you will ship for free ”. The field crabs are torn, washed and ground right at the market Ms. Hien also affirmed that the crabs are very delicious and can be kept in the freezer for 12 months. When eaten, the quality is no different from raw ground crab. “Frozen ground crab is easy to process, convenient and has a stable price. This type of crab can help housewives process many delicious dishes such as crab soup cooked in a hot pot or cooked with a variety of vegetables depending on the season and preferences of each family ”. According to her, customers who buy frozen crabs are mainly housewives in the city. They usually order at least 1kg to cook a crab dish on rice or eat with vermicelli, with thinly molded cakes. Along with rock crabs she sells frozen field crabs, up to tens of kilograms per day. On hot hot days, the number of sales she sells is 3 times higher than normal days and she does not sell crabs. Explaining why the price of crab is at least half cheaper than the market, Ms. Hien explained: “Crab is collected from farmers in the countryside, and my family does not have live crabs available. Besides the crab season, there is an outbreak of Covid-19, so it is cheap. Like last year, we have to sell ready-made crabs of 100,000 VND / kg ”. However, many small traders on the internet market sell frozen rock crabs, pre-ground frozen field crabs at low prices, startling However, according to a reporter survey, the price of pre-ground copper crabs is for sale online at a price that is 1/2 to 2/3 cheaper than the actual selling price in toad markets. For example, at Ha Dong toad markets, Tan Da market, Vo market, Van Phuc market (Ha Dong, Hanoi) on May 9, the price of 1kg of live crab is sold at 170,000-190,000 VND. At wholesale market 365, live crab with the lowest price is 150,000 VND / kg. Bringing this question to Ms. Tran Thi Phuong, 46 years old, a small trader specializing in selling crabs in Ha Dong market, she affirmed: “There has never been a story of live crabs selling for less than 150,000 VND / kg. Because, to have 1kg of pre-ground crab clean, you need to buy 1.3-1.4kg of raw crab. Thus, the crab price must also be calculated from 200,000-230,000 VND / kg “. “On the internet market, small traders keep advertising frozen crabs, frozen ready-made copper crabs but only cost 75,000-80,000 VND / kg, making sure that they are not genuine crabs, much less crabs. live fresh, “she stressed. Meanwhile, the price of live crab at the market is twice as expensive Many people suspect that it could be a western crab or crab imported from Cambodia, Thailand (illustration). Ms. Phuong also revealed that the frozen copper crabs, frozen pre-ground crabs are being sold at cheap prices on the internet market, most likely that the crabs with broken legs, broken legs, sick, peeled, leave bibs only to keep. The meat is then grinded. Or that is the western type crab or the ground crab imported from Cambodia. Because only these two types of crabs can be sold for a very “soft” price, only 60,000-70,000 VND / kg. The trader also warned that he has just entered the heat wave in the early summer, but there are many types of crabs sold in the market. However, not all sellers guarantee good quality at affordable prices. In fact, many small traders for profit try to import Western copper crabs or imported copper crabs with genuine copper crabs. Therefore, consumers should not be too greedy for cheap but be trapped. “In general, it’s money. Cheap crab will not be a standard crab and ensure quality. Not to mention wanting to eat delicious crab soup, housewives never buy packaged or canned frozen crabs. Because it is convenient, but the quality is not guaranteed and there are many potential risks of poisoning because it is not known how long these crab boxes are kept in the refrigerator. The seller himself may not know if the crab has been thoroughly washed and removed the dead crab before grinding ”, noted Ms. Phuong.