Nghe An: Areca nut prices plummet, growers suffer heavy losses.

This year's betel nut harvest is bountiful, with many bunches, abundant fruit, and beautiful appearance. Photo: Thanh Phuc

With nearly 300 betel nut trees planted, including 60 that are already bearing fruit, Mr. Tran Van Tang's garden (Tan Tien village, Hung Son commune, Anh Son district) is experiencing a bumper crop this year. He estimates that this year's betel nut harvest will yield approximately 1.5 tons of fruit. "With the selling price like in 2021, one ton of betel nuts would have brought in nearly 100 million dong. However, this year, the price of betel nuts has dropped, so even with a good harvest, the income is only about a quarter of last year's," Mr. Tang said.

According to Mr. Tang, his betel nuts ripened earlier, and some were harvested a month ago, so the selling price was still high at that time, ranging from 30,000 to 35,000 VND/kg, which helped to ease the situation. Currently, the betel nut crop is in its harvesting stage, with about 30 bunches, or about 4-5 quintals of betel nuts.Prices plummeted dramatically.That's less than one-tenth of last year's figure.

Areca palm orchards in Hung Son (Anh Son district) are laden with fruit, but the areca nuts remain unharvested despite being ripe, due to low prices. Photo: Thanh Phuc

"Last year, the highest price for betel nuts was 90,000 VND/kg, but now it's only 5,000-7,000 VND/kg. Even then, buyers are scarce, and traders are picky, only buying young betel nuts with green shells, long fruits, and firm seeds," Mr. Tang shared.

According to incomplete statistics, the entireHung Son communeThere are over 100 households growing betel nut trees, with quantities ranging from a few dozen to over 10; about 10 households grow several hundred trees. For many years, betel nut trees have been the main source of income from the orchards of these households. In years when betel nut prices were high, many orchards earned hundreds of millions of dong from betel nuts. However, in the 2022 betel nut harvest, despite a good crop, growers were quite disheartened by the drastic drop in betel nut prices.

Currently, traders have resumed purchasing betel nuts. Previously, there was a period when traders temporarily stopped buying because China did not import the goods. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only in Anh Son, but also in other districts such as Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Tan Ky… betel nut growers have suffered significant losses as betel nut prices have hit rock bottom this season. Mr. Le Dinh Hung, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Thanh Nho commune (Thanh Chuong), one of the largest betel nut growing areas in Thanh Chuong district, said: “At the beginning of the season, the price of betel nuts was only half of last year's but still high at 35-40 thousand VND/kg. But now, it's only 5-7 thousand VND/kg. Hundreds of betel nut growers in the commune have lost a large source of income.”

According to surveys, the current market price for fresh betel nuts ranges from 5,000 to 7,000 VND/kg. In contrast, about 1.5 months ago, the price of fresh betel nuts ranged from 30,000 to 35,000 VND/kg, and in 2021, the price peaked at 90,000 VND/kg.

Areca nuts are mainly purchased by drying facilities and then smuggled into China through unofficial channels, resulting in an unstable market and fluctuating prices. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The price of betel nuts has dropped while the cost of hiring harvesters remains high, and traders are selective, leading many farmers to avoid harvesting and leave the nuts to ripen on the trees. The sluggish market not only causes a decrease in revenue for growers but also leaves those who depend on betel nut production for service jobs.

Ms. Hoai Thuong, the owner of a betel nut purchasing agency in Phuc Son (Anh Son district), said: "Last year, betel nut prices were high. Besides buying locally, we had to hire workers to go to all the communes in the district and other districts to buy them; then we hired people to pick the nuts and pack them for export to processing plants. This year, our income has decreased significantly as a result."

With betel nut prices falling, many farmers are accepting the loss of their mature betel nuts, using some of them to cultivate and sell as seedlings. Photo: Thanh Phuc

According to traders, the reason for the drastic drop in betel nut prices is that China has stopped buying, leaving no market for the product.

In recent years, the area planted with betel nut trees has expanded in many localities. This is because betel nut trees are easy to grow, utilize vacant land along fences and pond banks, and can be intercropped with fruit trees and vegetables because they don't take up much space, require little care, are less susceptible to pests and diseases, and are less prone to breakage. After 5 years, they yield continuous harvests. Therefore, although betel nut prices fluctuate from year to year, compared to other crops in the area such as acacia and cassava, betel nut trees still have higher value.

In recent years, the area planted with betel nut trees has expanded in many localities. Photo: Thanh Phuc

However, nowadays,output of betel nutThe situation is precarious and completely dependent on China, so growers need to consider this carefully, and local authorities need to have plans and advise people against expanding the cultivated area indiscriminately…