Areca nut prices skyrocket then plummet: The 'formula' repeats itself many times

Recently, the price of fresh areca nuts has been increasing continuously, reaching a historical record, about 8 times higher than last year. People in the areca growing areas of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai... harvested the fruit and sold it for 40,000 VND/kg at the beginning of the season, then jumped to 80,000-90,000 VND/kg. Notably, in the same period last year, the price of fresh areca nuts sometimes fluctuated from only 5,000-7,000 VND/kg.

The price of dried areca nuts sold by kilns in recent days has also jumped to 500,000-570,000 VND/kg.

The reason the price of areca nuts has skyrocketed and set a historical record is because China has stepped up its buying.

Thanks to that, areca farmers have also made unprecedented profits. Many people even compare “areca nuts are as expensive as gold”, because selling 1 ton of fresh areca nuts can buy 1 tael of gold. Therefore, many farmers spend money to install dozens of cameras around their areca gardens to prevent “areca thieves”.

Meanwhile, traders from everywhere flocked to the villages of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai to search for fresh areca nuts to export to the Chinese market.

However, after setting a historic record, the price of fresh areca nuts began to plummet. From 85,000-90,000 VND/kg, the price of this fruit quickly dropped to 60,000-70,000 VND/kg. Notably, some areca nut kilns even stopped buying.

According to traders, the sharp drop in areca nut prices is because Chinese partners have already imported enough goods for production, so they have stopped buying. Therefore, the downward trend in areca nut prices is likely to continue in the coming days.

Talk toVietNamNetRegarding the story of areca nut prices hitting a record high and then plummeting, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong - Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that the price increase and then sharp decrease has become a "formula".

He emphasized that this “formula” is repeated with informal export items. Accordingly, areca nut is a product with a very narrow market, currently only being informally exported to China. Therefore, the story of areca nut prices rising and then falling sharply has happened many times in recent years.

In fact, at the end of 2022, the price of areca nuts also skyrocketed to 60,000 VND/kg. Immediately after that, this fruit dropped to 3,000-4,000 VND/kg when China stopped buying.

The agricultural and local authorities have also issued many recommendations for crops. However, our farmers are “forgetful” so the story of price increase followed by sharp decrease, or the refrain of planting and cutting still occurs.

“Not only with areca nuts, we have learned many lessons from pepper, dragon fruit, oranges… and it could happen with durian in the near future,” said Mr. Cuong.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has repeatedly recommended and provided guidance, but the decision to plant or not lies with the farmers. Prices must follow market rules; traders will no longer buy, and if prices fall, the authorities cannot intervene.

In China, young areca nuts are used to make candy. This candy is very popular in the country of a billion people, especially in cold regions because of its effect of preventing sore throat and keeping the body warm.

However, the leader of the Department of Crop Production said that to develop areca trees sustainably, there must be a direction, planted in areas with advantages. In particular, there must be a methodical purchase and sale agreement with the Chinese partner. Small-scale trade will have many risks.