A farming village in central Vietnam’s Nghe An province has shown how a low-cost, locally adapted aquaculture model can turn underused rice fields into a meaningful cash generator, with black apple snail production now bringing in more than 20 billion dong a year.
Vietnam Nghe An snail farms earn 20 billion dong
That matters because the story is not really about snails. It is about rural land use, farm incomes and the kind of small-scale agricultural transition that can lift returns without requiring heavy capital spending. In a country where many rice plots remain marginal or unprofitable, Bình Minh commune is proving that conversion to higher-value production can create a more resilient income stream for farmers.
The black apple snail model has expanded to more than 25 hectares across members of the Thọ Châu cooperative, with annual output around 400 tons. At an average selling price of about 65,000 dong per kilogram, the cooperative says revenue has topped 20 billion dong a year. For the first mover, Trần Quý Bảo, the economics are even more striking: after years of debt and failed ventures, he now earns an estimated 3 billion to 4 billion dong a year from a 3.5-hectare farm.
What makes the business attractive is its simplicity. The snails are fed mostly with natural materials such as squash, cassava leaves, sweet potato leaves and papaya, keeping costs relatively low. Farms need clean, controlled water, but once the system is established, growers say the crop can be harvested in about 75 days and, in favorable conditions, raised three times a year. Buyers typically come directly to the ponds, which reduces marketing risk and helps support cash flow.
For investors watching Vietnam’s farm economy, the important lesson is that value creation in agriculture is increasingly coming from specialization and cooperative organization rather than acreage alone. Bình Minh’s snails have already earned an OCOP 3-star certification, and the local government is planning a 2026-2028 project to formalize production, improve breeding stock, tighten environmental control and build a branded supply chain. The goal is ambitious: expand output to 1,600 tons a year.
That scale-up could create a real rural industry, but it also introduces the usual bottlenecks. Disease control, water management, seed quality and processing capacity will determine whether this remains a profitable niche or becomes a repeatable model. The cooperative’s plan to add freezing, processing and vacuum-packing facilities is a smart next step, because higher-value products usually travel further than raw agricultural output.
For long-term investors, the broader takeaway is encouraging. Rural Vietnam still has plenty of underproductive land, and the winners will be the communities that can convert it into branded, controlled and marketable food production. Black apple snails may not be a headline export sector, but the economics here are durable enough to matter. It is a model worth watching.
| Entity | Gains | Losses |
|---|---|---|
| Bình Minh farmers | ▲Higher incomes | ▼Low-return rice plots |
| Thọ Châu cooperative | ▲Scale and branding | ▼Fragmented smallholder selling |
| Local buyers/traders | ▲Steady supply | ▼Less control over pricing |
| Rice cultivation on marginal land | ▲None | ▼Land efficiency and income potential |
