Con Cuong: Lemon price is only 4,000 VND/kg but still no one buys

On average, each hectare of lemon has a yield of nearly 10 tons of fruit. Photo: Giang Minh

This year's lemon crop is considered a bumper crop, with nearly 1.5 hectares, Mr. Nguyen Ho Phuc's family in Bai Oi village, Chi Khe commune estimated to harvest 15 tons of fruit. If the selling price is the same as a few years ago, 6 - 7 thousand/kg, after deducting expenses, the family will earn 50 - 60 million VND in profit. However, at this time, with a price of 3,000 - 4,500 VND/kg, there are no traders to buy. Currently, the family has only sold 5 tons of fruit, there are still about 10 tons of fruit that have not been harvested.

“The price of lemons is so cheap, but for the past 2 weeks, no traders have come to buy them. Lemons can only be harvested within 1 month, if not harvested in time, the fruit will turn yellow and fall off by itself. There are buyers, the price drops to 2,000/kg, but we still have to sell, we can salvage as much as we can, we don't have to waste time taking them to dump,” - Mr. Phuc said sadly.

The lemon consumption market depends entirely on traders who come to buy it, so it is very unstable. Photo: Giang Minh

At the current price, many lemon growers have to accept losses. Because in addition to the cost of investing in fertilizers and pesticides, they also have to calculate the cost of hiring workers to take care of and harvest each crop. Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Bai Oi village, has 1 hectare of lemons in the harvest period, said: "With the price of lemons at about 4,000 VND/kg, on average, we have to hire 4 people to pick the fruit at 200,000 VND/person/day. So each ton of lemons costs up to 800,000 VND to harvest, plus the cost of investment, fertilizers, pesticides, and care, so we lose money."

Bai Oi village, Chi Khe commune is the locality with the largest lemon growing area in Con Cuong district, with a total area of ​​nearly 100 hectares, of which over 75 hectares have been harvested. 100% of households live on lemon trees as their main source of income. Each year, lemon gardens in Bai Oi yield about 5-6 tons/ha, with some long-standing, well-cultivated lemon gardens yielding 9-10 tons/ha. With an average selling price of about 7,000 VND/kg, after deducting costs, lemon growers can earn over 30 million VND/ha. This year, although the harvest was good, the price dropped, making people less interested in harvesting.

Mr. Bui The Hien - Chairman of Chi Khe Commune Farmers' Association (Con Cuong) shared:“10 years ago, lemon was considered one of the main crops that brought high economic value to the people here. However, in recent years, the amount of lemon has been too much, because not only in Con Cuong district but also in many other localities, this type of tree has been grown, leading to supply exceeding demand, unstable output, mainly farmers finding their own output. In the near future, we will promote and mobilize lemon growers to switch to combining off-season lemon cultivation, to have a more stable source of income."