Nghe An: Tangerines priced at 2,000 VND/kg still cannot be sold, so they have to be left to fall all over the garden.

Nghia Hong Commune has 38 hectares of tangerines in harvest. This is a variety of tree that is easier to grow and care for than orange trees. However, the difficult output is making people here restless.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Linh - Vice Chairman of Nghia Hong Commune People's Committee said: At this time, tangerines are sold for 2,000 - 3,000 VND/kg but no one buys them. Currently, the commune is also propagating to people not to expand the area. With prices like the situation in the past few years, some households have switched to investing in intercropping such as squash, melon, eggplant...

Similarly in Nghia Mai commune, farmers are also waiting for traders every day. It is known that to replace old, ineffective crops, people in the commune recently converted more than 50 hectares to citrus crops such as oranges and tangerines, but the output is unstable.

Unable to sell, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh in Nghia Mai has to go out every day to pick up rotten tangerines. Photo: Dinh Thuy

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh's family in Mai Thinh village, Nghia Mai commune, grows 500 tangerine trees, expecting this crop to yield 20 tons, but up to now she has only sold half a ton at 4,000 VND/kg. Every day, Ms. Thanh goes to the garden to clean up fallen fruit, asking people to find traders to buy, but she can only sell a few kilos each day. Ms. Thanh shared: This is the second year the family has had difficulty selling tangerines. Looking at the tangerine garden, I can't sleep, it's cheap but there are no buyers. We borrowed and invested capital, but now we just hope to get our capital back. If this situation continues, we don't know where the family will get the money to pay off the debt...

Currently, tangerines have begun to flower. If they are not harvested early, not only will the yield and quality be poor, but they will also affect the next crop. Some gardeners here have taken tangerines to other localities to sell, but the consumption is also slow, only selling 1-2 quintals per day. Tangerine growers like Ms. Thanh only hope that their products will be rescued and they can salvage money to continue investing in the hope that the price of tangerines will increase next season.

Taking us to the tangerine gardens in the commune, Mr. Le Van Thanh, an agricultural officer of Nghia Mai commune, shared: Tangerines in Nghia Mai are mainly in the main harvest period, that is, after 3 or 4 years of investment. Currently, the price of tangerines is from 3,000 to 5,000 VND/kg, but this year there are no cars coming to buy in large quantities, but mainly small traders, making people very worried because many tangerines have fallen. We regularly go to check, guide people to take care of them as well as clean up fallen tangerines, avoiding environmental pollution.

Not only in Nghia Dan, but also tangerine growers in many places such as Quy Hop and Tan Ky districts... are waiting for traders to buy to invest in the next crop.