Nghe An: Lemon prices 'hit rock bottom' and lessons on planting trees without planning

Ms. Pham Thi Lan's family in Cat Son hamlet, Nghia Hieu commune, grows more than 400 lemon trees. Last year, the price of lemons was low, so her family had to destroy more than 100 trees. This year, they hope the price will be more stable, but at the moment, the price of lemons is only 3,000 VND/kg, lower than last year.

"To have beautiful, juicy lemons, we need to invest in fertilizer and care, about 15 million VND per hectare. At the beginning of the season, traders paid 5,000 VND/kg but did not sell. We thought the price of lemons would increase in a few months, but now it is only 3,000 VND/kg for beautiful lemons. If the price remains low like this, the family will lose money..."

Currently, beautiful lemons in Nghia Dan district cost only 3,000 - 5,000 VND/kg. Photo: Dinh Thuy

As the largest lemon growing commune in Nghia Dan district with an area of ​​40 hectares, Nghia Hieu has also advised farmers not to grow lemons in large quantities in recent years. At the same time, it is necessary to rely on planning to avoid risks in output, however, some farmers still grow spontaneously.

Mr. Ngo Sy Binh - Chairman of Nghia Hieu Commune People's Committee said that the commune has more than 220 hectares of lemons and grapefruits, this crop is expected to harvest about 150 tons of lemons. Compared to oranges, lemons are easier to grow and require less investment and care. Previously, the price of lemons was from 10,000 - 15,000 VND/kg, making farmers profitable. In recent years, the price of lemons has been unstable; especially this year, due to unfavorable weather, the lemon crop failed, and the selling price is much lower than previous years, causing difficulties for farmers.

Currently, in addition to Nghia Hieu commune, lemons are grown sporadically in other communes of Nghia Dan. Most farmers grow lemons spontaneously because lemons had high prices in previous years. And now, many other lemon growers in Nghia Dan are also "crying" because lemon prices have dropped too low.

Ms. Bui Thi Thanh in Binh Hai hamlet, Nghia Binh commune grows 1 hectare of lemons. Last year, she harvested 5 tons of fruit, but this year, without any investment, she only harvested about 2-3 tons. Ms. Thanh said: "Every day, I pick about 10 kg to sell retail at restaurants, and families get 30,000 - 50,000 VND. As for her son's 2 hectares of lemons, they have not harvested any fruit yet. My husband and I are busy working far away and do not pay attention to the lemons anymore."

The more ripe the lemon is, the lower the price. Photo: Dinh Thuy

Previously, lemons in Nghia Dan were mainly sold in large quantities to traders in Ninh Binh and Nam Dinh. However, this year, traders are not very interested.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh - a trader in Ninh Binh said, at the beginning of the season, he bought beautiful lemons with no bumps at 5,000 VND/kg, but many people wanted to hoard them and wait for the price to go up. After 2 months, when we returned, the lemon garden had turned yellow, so the price would definitely be lower. Not to mention that some gardens were neglected, with many wild plants growing, making it difficult to harvest.