Nghe An: Prices of many types of green vegetables hit rock bottom, 1,000 VND/kg.
After the Lunar New Year, many vegetables and fruits in Nghe An province have seen a drastic price drop, reaching only 1,000 VND/kg. Farmers are hoping traders will buy them to recover their capital, and many households have even uprooted and discarded them.
Vegetable growers suffer losses.
In these early days of the new year, people in vegetable-growing areas of the province such as Quynh Luu and Dien Chau are harvesting the last crops of the winter-spring season.
However, after the Lunar New Year, many types of vegetables and fruits on the market experienced a sharp drop in price, causing anxiety among farmers. Prices were too low, and traders also limited their purchases, forcing farmers to sell off their crops at rock-bottom prices, neglect their crops, or even uproot them and pile them up in the corner of the field.
In the coastal vegetable farming area of Quynh Luu district, this is the largest vegetable and fruit growing area in the province, covering nearly 600 hectares, with hundreds of households producing using intensive farming methods.
According to locals, before Tet (Lunar New Year), the price of vegetables such as cabbage, kohlrabi, cauliflower, chrysanthemum greens, various types of leafy greens, lettuce, etc., was 2,000 VND/kg. After Tet, prices plummeted dramatically, reaching a low of 1,000 VND/kg, and in some cases, there were no buyers, leading to overripe vegetables. Only tomatoes were selling for 4,000-5,000 VND/kg, and spring onions for 3,000-4,000 VND/kg.
Mr. Ho Than Yen, residing in Hamlet 2, Minh Luong Commune, sadly stated that his family cultivated 2 sao (approximately 0.2 hectares) of tomatoes, 1 sao of cauliflower, and 0.8 sao of celery this season. Due to favorable weather conditions, the vegetables grew well, but the prices were unstable and the market was difficult to sell.
After the Lunar New Year, cauliflower sold at the farm for 1,000 VND/head (1.2 - 1.3 kg/head), and celery only 1,000 VND/kg. Occasionally, traders would order a few tens of kilograms, so to this day, a quarter of the cauliflower heads remain unsold, leading to them being overripe, with many plants already flowering, and no one buying them.
"One sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of cauliflower can grow 1,000 plants, but with the current purchase price from traders, it only brings in 1 million VND; cabbage, with a maximum yield of 5 tons per sao, sells for 1,000 VND/kg, bringing in 5 million VND. The price is too low, only enough to cover the costs of land preparation, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides… but there's no profit from the labor or cultivation," Mr. Yen expressed.
While carrying baskets of lettuce to throw away, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc from Minh Luong commune said that her family planted nearly one sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of lettuce this winter to supply the market. However, the price was too low, only 1,000 VND/kg, so they didn't bother harvesting it and instead uprooted it to switch to planting other crops.
"The money from selling the produce doesn't even cover the cost of seeds, fertilizer, or labor. Besides, selling is very difficult; traders are reluctant to buy. Retail sales are minimal; some days, I cut the fruit and sit at the market all day without anyone buying, so I have to bring it back and throw it away," Ms. Ngoc shared sadly.
Source: "Supply exceeds demand"
Ms. Ho Thi Y, a vegetable and fruit trader in Minh Luong commune, believes that the reason for the sharp drop in vegetable prices before and after Tet (Lunar New Year) is the oversupply on the market, while demand has decreased. Previously, she bought and sold tons of vegetables daily, but during this period, she only sells 2-3 quintals of various vegetables. Because there is a large surplus of vegetables in the fields, traders are choosing to buy the best-looking vegetables and fruits for easier sale.
Observations in the fields of the coastal area of Quynh Luu district show that a considerable amount of vegetables ready for harvest are accumulating, most notably tomatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, and celery... Despite being ready for harvest, they are not being purchased, resulting in many vegetable plots being neglected and withering.
Tomatoes are still quite abundant in the fields of Quynh Luu district. Observations show that although the tomatoes are ripe and red on the plants, farmers are harvesting them in small quantities. Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh from Hamlet 8, Minh Luong commune, said: His family planted 3 sao (approximately 0.3 hectares) of tomatoes (Nong Huu variety), and after more than 3 months of care, they began harvesting just before the Lunar New Year.
However, unlike the same period last year when traders bought tomatoes at 8,000 VND/kg, the price is now only 4,000-5,000 VND/kg, but consumption is slow, resulting in a surplus of ripe tomatoes that cannot be harvested. Traders only order 2-3 quintals (200-300 kg) per day, while the demand is for 1 ton per day. At this price, tomato growers make a small profit, but if the price drops further, they will suffer losses.
According to data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quynh Luu district, this winter-spring season, farmers in the district cultivated approximately 1,177 hectares of various vegetables and fruits, concentrated most heavily in the coastal communes of Minh Luong, Quynh Bang, and Phu Nghia…
In Dien Chau district, the situation of plummeting vegetable and fruit prices after Tet (Lunar New Year) is also occurring in many localities. Mr. Le The Hieu, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said: At this time after Tet, the entire district still has about 300 hectares of various vegetables and fruits. In general, after Tet, the prices of all kinds of green vegetables have dropped sharply and are difficult to sell.
According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Duc, Head of the Provincial Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the province currently has about 10,000 hectares of winter vegetables remaining after the Lunar New Year, concentrated mainly in the districts of Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, Nam Dan, and Do Luong… The reason for the sharp drop in vegetable prices after the Lunar New Year is that this year's favorable weather conditions have resulted in good vegetable growth with fewer pests and diseases, leading to an abundant supply, while vegetable consumption has slowed down after the holiday.
