Massive expansion of acreage, lemon growers suffer price drop

(Baonghean.vn) - The 2016 lemon crop is considered the best ever in Chi Khe, Con Cuong, but lemon growers here are facing difficulties because the selling price is too low.

Bai Oi village, Chi Khe commune has nearly 50 hectares of lemons. At this time last year, the lemon gardens in Bai Oi had finished harvesting, but this year they have only harvested half. Many lemon growers are very worried because if they cannot harvest the yellow lemons in time and they fall off by themselves, they will have to dump them. Some traders said that the price of lemons has dropped because in other places in the province as well as in other provinces, there is a very large output that cannot be consumed in time.

Lemon gardens in Bai Oi village, Chi Khe commune are currently very fruitful.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Quang in Bai Oi village, Chi Khe commune sadly said: “My family has nearly 2 hectares of lemons, every year the average selling price is 8,000 VND/kg, with this area, my family earns over 50 million VND. This year, the lemon crop is good, the yield is high but the price is low, only 3,500 VND/kg, not worth the effort of fertilizing but also difficult to sell. Currently, my family's lemon garden has only harvested nearly half."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc, another lemon grower in Bai Oi village, said: “Like last year, lemon growers here were very excited because the lemon crop was good and the price was good. But this year, business is very slow, the price of lemon is too low. Our people’s wish is for commercial lemon trees here to have a stable place to sell.”

With nearly 2 hectares of lemons, every year, Mr. Nguyen Viet Quang's family in Bai Oi village earns over 50 million VND, but this year, the selling price is too low, so the income is only half of last year's.

In Bai Oi village, planting lemon trees on hilly land has been effective, so in recent years, people's lives have been significantly improved. Each year, lemon gardens here yield about 5-6 tons/ha, especially long-standing lemon gardens with good intensive cultivation can reach 7-8 tons/ha. With an average selling price of about 8,000 VND/kg, after deducting costs, lemon growers can earn a profit of over 30 million VND/ha. This year, lemons have a high yield but are in a situation of good harvest but low price, making people not very interested in harvesting.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Head of Bai Oi Village, lemon is a type of tree that only needs to be invested and cared for once and then harvested for a long time, and the care costs are not expensive. Normally, lemon trees will bear fruit after about 3 years of planting. The village has 104 households, and almost every household grows lemons with a total area of ​​nearly 50 hectares. In previous years, when prices were good, people were excited and many households expanded their new lemon growing areas. But this year, prices are low, so people harvest and sell to have money to spend."

Thanks to good investment and care, the lemon gardens in Bai Oi are full of juicy fruit.

Mr. Bui The Hien - Chairman of Chi Khe Con Cuong Commune Farmers' Association shared:“In Chi Khe commune, implementing the project of converting crop structure, increasing value per unit area, over the past 10 years, lemon has been considered one of the main crops bringing high economic value. However, this year, the selling price is too low, so lemon growers have lost their crops. In the near future, we will promote and mobilize households to switch to growing off-season lemons to have a more stable source of income."

To promote the effectiveness of crops, people and authorities at all levels need to orientate the planning of suitable growing areas, pay attention to building product brands, and ensure stable output for crops. Otherwise, the story of good harvest but low prices will remain an eternal problem and the people will still be the ones who suffer.

Minh Hanh

Con Cuong Radio Station