Nghe An farmers excited because spring rice prices increase

The rice has just been dried and the husks have been removed when traders come to buy it at home. Photo: Thanh Phuc

As one of the households with a large rice growing area in Tru Son commune (Do Luong), Mr. Nguyen Van Tung has now finished harvesting nearly 2 hectares of rice fields with a yield of about 6.5 tons of rice. The joy is clearly visible on the face of this old farmer when this spring crop, the rice yield is high (average 3.2 quintals/sao) and the selling price is also higher than every year.

Mr. Tung said: “This year, input costs are high, from seeds, fertilizers to the rental price of land preparation and harvesting machines. Fortunately, the harvest is good, the rice price is high, so farmers still have profits. Since the harvest, traders have come to the fields to buy fresh rice at 5,700 VND/kg; if dried just right, the price is 7,000 VND/kg; if cleaned, the price is 7,300 VND/kg. This price is 500 - 700 VND/kg higher than last spring crop.”

In the “rice granary” of Yen Thanh, this spring crop, the entire district has nearly 13,000 hectares of rice, 40-50% of which has been harvested. Since the beginning of the harvest season, traders from all over have flocked here to buy rice.

Mr. Nguyen Duy, a trader in Dien Dong commune (Dien Chau) who specializes in purchasing rice in Yen Thanh district to export to the northern provinces, said: “Every day I purchase about 30-50 tons of rice. Compared to previous years, this year's rice is beautiful, the grains are firm and the purchase price is higher than last year. Usually, we contact the village chief, announce the specific price on the loudspeaker, whoever wants to sell registers, then we send workers and vehicles to the fields to pick up the goods; as for dry rice, we come to the house to buy. People sell more fresh rice because this year the weather is erratic, sunny in the morning, rainy in the afternoon, after harvesting, people sell right in the field to save drying and transportation costs.”

Currently, rice prices are at 5,500 - 6,000 VND/kg of fresh rice, 7,000 - 7,300 VND/kg of dry rice, 500 - 700 VND/kg higher than last year. Photo: Thanh Phuc

This spring crop, agricultural cooperatives in the province also purchased rice from farmers at high prices. Mr. Vo Van Giap - Director of Dien Lien Agricultural Cooperative (Dien Chau) said: "This spring crop, members planted 350 hectares of rice, with peak productivity of 7.8 tons/ha. Currently, the cooperative is purchasing rice from farmers at a price of 6,500 VND - 7,000 VND/kg of fresh rice variety CS6, the highest price ever. The cooperative is expected to purchase about 400 tons of rice for farmers for the whole crop. With a good harvest and good prices, farmers can earn 20-25 million VND/ha per hectare of rice."

Spring rice grains are firm and sunny, so the rice is more fragrant and delicious, so the demand for purchase is also higher. Not only cooperatives and traders collect and sell to agents in the northern provinces, but people in other places also buy rice to eat quite a lot. Ms. Hoang Thi Thu in Dai Dong commune (Thanh Chuong) said: "I buy 3 tons of rice in reserve for 3 families to eat gradually. Every month, I mill the rice and send it to Vinh and Hanoi for my children to eat rice from the countryside, which is safer and of better quality."

Traders use harvesters to buy fresh rice right at the field, so farmers don't have to dry it and save on transportation costs. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The price of spring rice this year is high, reaching a new peak compared to many years ago. Specifically, fresh rice bought at the field costs 5,700-6,000 VND/kg; dry rice costs 7,000-7,200 VND/kg for regular rice (500-700 VND/kg higher than the 2020 spring crop); and high-quality varieties and fragrant rice have higher prices.

According to traders, the reason for the high rice price is because this year's rice is beautiful and firm, and the market demand has increased, partly because at the end of 2020, floods washed away and damaged a large amount of rice of farmers. Currently, the price of rice in the Mekong Delta provinces is also higher than in previous years (increased by 1,500 - 1,700 VND/kg compared to the same period last year), so this is also a factor causing the price of rice to increase from the beginning of the season.

With good harvest and good prices, farmers are excited to stay in the fields, harvesting at night to speed up the harvest. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The rice crop was both bountiful and the price was good, so farmers were very excited, sticking to the fields to speed up the harvest to supply the market, making a profit, and continuing to invest in the summer-autumn crop.