Nghe An: Glue prices drop sharply, many facilities temporarily stop purchasing

Mr. Bui Anh's glue purchasing point in Viet Huong village, Chau Hoi commune, Quy Chau district still has over 150 tons of raw glue left. Photo: Van Truong

At this time, go along Highway 48 to the district.Quy Chau, observed that on both sides of the road there were many deserted acacia purchasing points, on the acacia hills no one was exploited.

Mr. Vi Tinh in Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district shared: From the price of acacia at 13 - 14 million VND/ton, in recent months it has suddenly dropped to only 10 million VND/ton, minus investment costs and care costs, sometimes we only break even. We know that selling acacia at this time is a disadvantage, but we still have to sell to have money to cover the Tet holiday.

Mr. Bui Anh in Viet Huong village, Chau Hoi commune, Quy Chau district - a specialist in purchasing glue for the northern provinces said: Glue prices have dropped, output is difficult to consume, so for over a month, our facility had to temporarily stop purchasing. Now that we have resumed operations, output is very difficult, currently there are over 150 tons of raw glue in the storage yard. Glue left for a long time becomes moldy, dry, so the loss is even greater.

Mr. Luong Anh Tuan - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quy Chau district said: The whole district has over 21,000 hectares of raw acacia, annually exploiting and planting 4,000 - 4,500 hectares. In January 2022, acacia prices suddenly increased, from 9-10 million VND/ton to 14 million VND/ton; but from October 2022, acacia prices dropped to only 10 million VND/ton.

A glue purchasing point in Tay Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district is operating at a low level. Photo: Van Truong

The low price of acacia and the difficulty in selling directly affect the lives of acacia growers. Not to mention that in the area, there are thousands of workers who "depend" on the acacia growing profession such as exploiting acacia and planting new acacia. If the acacia growing profession stagnates, workers will have more difficulties because their income from this profession will decrease.

Currently, in Yen Thanh district, there are many glue purchasing points operating at a low level. Present at a glue purchasing point in Quang Thanh commune, the owner of the glue purchasing facility shared: Previously, when glue prices increased, our facility purchased 150 tons per day, but now we only purchase 30 - 40 tons of glue, mainly sold to Nghi Son (Thanh Hoa). Due tocheap glue priceSo now some people are not selling, they are "waiting for the price".

According to the report of Quang Thanh Commune People's Committee, the whole commune has over 900 hectares of raw material forest, currently, the commune still has over 200 hectares of raw material acacia that are ready to be exploited.

Acacia trees are cheap, but some households in Do Luong district still cut them down and sell them to make money to cover Tet. Photo: Van Truong

A representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Yen Thanh district said: The whole district of Yen Thanh currently has over 12,500 hectares of raw acacia, harvesting over 2,700 hectares of acacia annually. In the long term, for the sustainable development of acacia cultivation, Yen Thanh district hopes to have a joint venture enterprise sign a contract to purchase products at stable prices so that farmers can feel secure in production.

Some acacia wood buyers in Yen Thanh district also said: Currently, some export chip factories in Ha Tinh and Thanh Hoa provinces have temporarily stopped production due to unsold products, causing acacia purchasing to be at a standstill.

The acacia forest in Quy Hop district has not been exploited for sale because the price is too cheap. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Nguyen Khac Hai - Head of Forest Use and Development Department (Forestry Department) added: Nghe An currently has nearly 170,000 hectares of raw acacia forest, exploiting over 60,000 hectares annually. The reason for the sharp drop in acacia prices is that the European market has recently bought less (mainly for biomass power generation), not to mention that laminated wood products and MDF wood exported to the European market are also difficult to sell.

To minimize the situation of fluctuating glue prices, local people need to focus onlarge timber plantationto increase added value and sustainable development. Because the market for planted timber is large, diverse, easy to consume, meeting the needs of processing factories, concentrated industrial zones in the province and export...