Lemons are cheap as free, people suffer heavy losses

(Baonghean.vn) - Many lemon growers in Nghe An are in dire straits due to bumper crops and low prices. In fact, lemons cannot be sold, forcing farmers to incur losses.

Mr. Dang Van Loi's family in Dong Xuan village is the household that grows the most lemons in Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu) with 1 hectare. This year's lemon crop, more than 700 lemon trees are ripening but very few traders come to buy; if there are any, the purchase price is too cheap compared to the initial investment cost. Looking at the lemon garden full of fruit, ripening and falling all over the garden makes him feel sad.

"At the beginning of the season, the purchase price was high, but the lemons were not yet ready for harvest. Now the entire area is in full fruit, but the quantity sold is very small. They mainly buy 50-100 kg, not much. The lemons ripen and fall a lot. If this situation continues from now until the end of the season, the family will have to cover the cost of care," said Mr. Loi.

Mr. Dang Van Loi's family's 700 lemon trees garden in Quynh Thang commune (Quynh Luu) cannot be sold. Photo: Viet Hung

Unsold lemons during harvest season is a common situation for more than 20 lemon growing households in Quynh Thang commune. Mr. Le Xuan Thuy, head of Dong Xuan village, who grows 5 sao of lemons, said that many households are currently struggling because the lemons are ripe but cannot be sold. If they are sold, the price is cheap, from 3,000 - 3,500 VND/kg, which is only half the price at the beginning of the season last year.

On average, 1 hectare of lemon yields about 9 - 10 tons of fruit. With the current purchase price, each hectare earns about 30 million VND, while the cost of investment and care is up to 25 million VND, so farmers do not make a profit.

"With the current purchase price of lemons, farmers do not make any profit. If they sell well, they may break even; otherwise, if lemons do not sell well, farmers will be left empty-handed and have to cover the costs," said Mr. Thuy.

With the current purchase price of 3,000 - 3,500 VND/kg, lemon growers have no profit; there are even no buyers, so many lemons are left to ripen and fall off. Photo by Viet Hung

In 2013, dozens of households in Quynh Thang commune boldly introduced fruit tree varieties to grow on the red basalt soil, including lemon. Currently, the whole commune has about 10 hectares of lemon, most of which are grown in Dong Xuan village.

According to households, it takes about 3 years from planting to harvesting lemons, of which the cost of land improvement, investment in seeds and fertilizers is about 100 million VND/ha; with such a high initial investment cost, each crop must earn from 100 - 150 million VND/ha or more to make a profit. However, in this second lemon harvest, each hectare only earns 30 - 35 million VND, not including costs. The low purchase price makes lemon growers discouraged and unwilling to invest.

Mr. Le Van Nga - Chairman of Quynh Thang Commune People's Committee said that since the beginning of the season, the price of lemons has been too cheap, so households have had to find outlets to sell their products. However, the amount of purchases is not much, so many households have had to let the lemons ripen and fall. "In this situation, the locality recommends that people need to find more outlets for their products; need to take care of the trees according to the process so that the fruit can be sold at the beginning of the season. People should research the market, should not plant lemons en masse, to avoid falling into the current situation of good harvest and low prices" - Mr. Nga added.

Hung Nguyen district has about 400 hectares of lemons, mainly concentrated in two communes of Hung Yen Bac and Hung Yen Nam and scattered in a few hamlets of Hung Trung commune. Hung Yen Bac commune alone has 200 hectares, this year's lemon output is about 500 tons. At the beginning of the season (May-June), the price of lemons in the garden is 16,000-17,000 VND/kg, now good quality lemons are only about 4,000 VND/kg.

In Hung Nguyen district, the current price of lemon is about 4,000 VND/kg. Photo: Thanh Tam

According to Ms. Phan Thi Xuan in Hamlet 10, Hung Yen Nam Commune: The characteristic of lemon trees in Hung Yen is that they flower continuously, so they are often harvested. Currently, the price of lemons is cheap, so garden owners have to harvest and transport them to the purchasing points of traders. Her family has 500 lemon trees, this crop is expected to yield 4 tons, but so far they have only sold nearly 2 tons; with the selling price of about 4,000 VND/kg, people do not make a profit.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Thanh in Hamlet 2A, Hung Yen Bac Commune - a household owner who specializes in purchasing lemons to sell in the Northern provinces said; "When lemons were expensive, I purchased about 8 tons per day. Now the price of lemons is low and it is also more difficult to sell, so I only purchase 5 - 6 tons per day; mainly selling them to Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, and Hanoi provinces."

Nghe An lemons are mainly consumed in northern provinces such as Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Hanoi... Photo: Thanh Tam

Although lemon prices are low, lemon growers in Hung Nguyen continue to invest in fertilization and provide enough nutrients for their lemon gardens so that the next lemon crop will be a good one, and they also hope that lemon prices will increase to have more income.

Viet Hung - Thanh Tam