Farmers in Nghe An province are struggling due to plummeting pine resin prices.

People tapping rubber trees in Dong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Photo: Van Truong

It can be said that,pine treeSuitable for the high mountainous terrain, this is a suitable crop that brings high economic efficiency to the people in the semi-mountainous districts of Nghe An province. The pine trees grown here are mainly horsetail pines, which have good resin yield, supplying the electronics industry. However, in recent years, the price of pine resin has continuously dropped sharply, causing people in Nghe An to only dare to harvest it sparingly, resulting in low economic efficiency.

Mr. Tran Minh from Dong Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, said: "My family is contracted to harvest over 2 hectares of pine trees. Normally, the price of pine resin is stable at over 38,000 VND/kg, but from 2019 until now, the price has continuously dropped, only reaching 17,000 to 25,000 VND/kg. After calculations, each hectare of pine only yields over 20 million VND, which is not enough to cover the costs of scraping tools, plastic bags, containers, and labor... so we have to harvest sparingly. Due to the extremely low price of pine resin, many households in Yen Thanh district have switched to planting acacia trees instead of pine trees, even though the pine trees still produce resin."

A representative from the Yen Thanh District Protective Forest Management Board shared: The Board currently has over 500 hectares of pine trees, contracting out protection and resin harvesting to over 230 households through a joint venture model. The Forest Management Board invests capital in pine tree development, while the people manage and protect the trees. After resin harvesting, the people receive 50% of the profits.

Due to the low price of pine resin, large areas of forest in Dien Doai commune, Dien Chau district, are neglected, and undergrowth is growing densely. Photo: Van Truong

The biggest challenge right now remains sales. In previous years, farmers only needed to harvest the resin and traders would come directly to them to place orders. But now, the unit has to find buyers themselves. Since the beginning of 2019, China has tightened import restrictions on some agricultural products, and pine resin is not on the list of agricultural products China allows to import, leading to periods of stockpiling. As a result, the unit's resin production has decreased; from an annual yield of 200 tons, it now only reaches 150 tons/ha, and farmers are only harvesting at a minimal level.

In the districtQuynh Luu,In Hoang Mai town, over 700 hectares of pine forest (managed by the Northern Nghe An Protective Forest Management Board) are currently being harvested for resin, which is exported to China and India, generating revenue of 5-7 billion VND. The unit used to harvest over 300 tons annually, but due to difficulties in selling the resin, they are now only harvesting 150 tons per year. The low price of pine resin has led to a situation where many pine forest areas in Dien Chau, Do Luong, etc., are not being properly cared for by local people, resulting in dense undergrowth and a high risk of forest fires.

According to resin purchasing agents in Nghe An province, the reason for the drop in resin prices is that resin exports from the province are all done through unofficial channels, and in recent years, the Chinese market has tightened controls, making it difficult for goods to pass through this "gateway". Furthermore, resin is also exported to India, but due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, India has limited its purchases.

Rosin in Nghe An is mostly imported in raw form, hence the low price. (Photo taken at a rosin collection facility in Xuan Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district). Photo: Van Truong

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghe An province, the province currently has about 30,000 hectares of pine trees, mainly concentrated in the districts of Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen, Do Luong, Dien Chau, etc. Annually, pine resin production reaches 2,500-3,000 tons, bringing a significant income to the people and contributing to the stable livelihoods of tens of thousands of people. However, due to the extremely low price of pine resin and the uncertain market, production has only reached about 1,500 tons of pine resin per year.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Lam, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, added: To find a stable market for pine resin, businesses in Nghe An need to invest in modern, standardized pine resin processing plants, increasing the value of pine resin for export to European, Japanese, and Korean markets… In the long term, if pine trees are well managed, including care, undergrowth management, fire prevention, and pest control, they will yield high economic efficiency and help green barren hills and empty land.

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