Lobster farmers hurt by falling prices                 Lobster farmers in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa are facing big losses as prices are sharply falling. Lobster prices have fallen by VND500,000-600,000 a kilogramme compared with a year earlier.   Selling lobster in Khanh Hoa Prices now range from VND1.35-1.4 million a kilogramme, against the export prices of VND1.8-1.9 million last year. Nguyen Ngoc Huy, who owns a farm at Binh Ba island in Cam Ranh City, said he has never seen such low prices. "Normally the prices suddenly fall at the beginning of the harvest season and then rebound," Huy said. "Many farmers held back their lobster, waiting for prices to rise, but this did not happen this year." The drop in prices is being blamed on Chinese traders who are offering less for lobster imported from Vietnam. Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa are the main lobster provinces, and nearly 90 percent are exported to China. Department of Fisheries reports show that, since 2000, between 8,000 to 10,000 lobster farms have been established by farming households nationwide. Most are in the central region, from Quang Binh Province to Binh Thuan Province. The department estimates that the total output of lobster a year in Vietnam is nearly 1,400 tonnes. This returns a total annual profit of VND3.5trn to farmers.- VNS