The prolonged coronavirus pandemic and soaring fuel prices due to the Ukraine war have threatened livelihoods in Vietnam. John Nguyen Cong Ngan is taking apart his six-meter-long fishing boat to dock it in a harbor as he cannot bear the rising cost of fuel since the Ukraine war began.
The fishing harbor near his home in the Gio Linh district of Quang Tri province, usually bustling with commercial activities, wears an empty look in peak season except for the few men still catching fish. Ngan, 43, will be storing the diesel engine and fishing equipment at home, overturning the boat and placing it on the sandy shore where many other boats are already placed.
“We are bitterly disappointed that we could not earn enough money to put food on the table while we are in the fishing season,” said the skilled fisherman with tanned skin, a sign he’s been catching fish long enough.
But this year he made only one trip and incurred a loss of 1 million dong (US$44) on fuel alone. Ngan said the price of auto diesel had shot up to 25,268 dong per liter on March 11 from 17,579 dong last December, while the prices of 95 octane petrol and kerosene went up by 6,529 dong and 7,400 dong respectively…