Nghe An: Lemon prices hit record high but growers are not happy

These days, people in the lemon growing areas of Hung Yen Bac, Hung Yen Nam, Hung Tay (Hung Nguyen) communes are harvesting the last lemons of the season - also known as "nien" lemons. Unlike the joy of previous years, although the price of this lemon crop is high, most people are not happy because there is no product to sell.

Farmers in Hung Yen Bac commune, Hung Nguyen district "pick" lemons to sell because of record high prices. Photo: Quang An

Visiting the lemon garden of Mr. Phan Ba ​​Tai's family in hamlet 2B, Hung Yen Bac commune, he sighed: "I have 1 hectare of lemons. Every year, in addition to harvesting the main lemon crop, I also get about 1 ton of late lemons, harvested in March and April. However, this year I only get about 100 kg."

This is also the common situation of hundreds of lemon growers here. It is known that the reason for the decrease in lemon output is due to the weather, most notably the two storms in 2017 that caused many lemon trees to break and many trees to die. Therefore, this year's late lemon season has no fruit to sell.

Traders buy lemons at 47,000 VND/kg locally. Photo: Quang An

According to Ms. Hoa in Hamlet 2B, Hung Yen Bac Commune, in addition to the weather, the decrease in lemon yield is due to the fact that the land used to grow lemon trees here has degraded and many lemon trees are over 15 years old, leading to low fruit yield.

Currently, the price of imported lemons at the garden has reached 45,000 - 47,000 VND/kg. This is the highest price ever, people do not sell retail, there are traders who buy directly from the garden. At this time last year, the price of beautiful late lemons was only about 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg.

Late-season lemons are often not as beautiful but are more expensive than main-season lemons. Photo: Quang An

Although prices have increased, farmers are sad because there is nothing to sell. Mr. Le Van Binh in Hung Yen Nam commune sighed: "Last year's late lemon season, the fruit was beautiful but the price was only 25,000 VND/kg but no one bought it, so they had to throw it away. Now, the fruit is worse but traders are competing to buy it, the price has tripled, so my family has no lemons to sell."

Ms. Chau, a local trader, said: "The high price of lemons is because it is the end of the season, the market needs a lot because it is entering the hot season but the goods are scarce. On the other hand, there are not many lemon growing areas in Nghe An, so the price increase is understandable."

The whole district of Hung Nguyen has 400 hectares of lemons, mainly concentrated in the communes of Hung Yen Bac and Hung Yen Nam; of which Hung Yen Nam commune has 200 hectares, Hung Yen Bac has over 100 hectares.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huu - Vice Chairman of Hung Yen Bac Commune People's Committee said: Two storms in February and September 2017 caused about 50% of the lemon area to fall and lose fruit. Therefore, this lemon season's productivity has decreased dramatically. However, the locality does not recommend people to cut down lemon trees to plant other trees because this is a crop with high economic efficiency over the past years, adapting to the arid land conditions here.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Tinh, hamlet 1, Hung Yen Nam commune is lucky to have 4 sao of late-ripening lemons that are currently producing a lot of fruit. According to Mr. Tinh, the price of lemons will increase sharply, especially during the April 30 - May 1 holiday. Photo: Quang An

According to a survey by PV, in Vinh City, the price of lemons is currently at 55,000 - 60,000 VND/kg. It is worth mentioning that each kg of lemons only has about 15 fruits. Each lemon currently costs nearly 4,000 VND. Large, beautiful fruits cost 5,000 VND. This is a price that many consumers feel hesitant about. Many restaurants currently do not dare to import lemons due to price fever, affecting their revenue./.