Nghe An: Summer-autumn rice prices drop, traders buy sparingly

Thanh Phuc• September 11, 2021 10:10

(Baonghean.vn) - Currently, many localities in Nghe An have basically completed the summer-autumn rice harvest. According to assessments, this year's summer-autumn rice crop is good, with the highest yield in recent years. However, rice prices have dropped sharply, and traders are purchasing sparingly.

Currently, rice prices are falling, only 4,000 - 4,500 VND/kg of fresh rice. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Just finished harvesting 1 samplesummer-autumn riceIt is also the time when the children enter the new school year, there are many expenses, so Ms. Phan Thi Luong in Thanh Lien commune (Thanh Chuong) decided to call traders to sell fresh rice in the field. However, when hearing the traders quote the price, good rice is 4,200 VND/kg, this price is too low compared to the spring and summer-autumn crops last year, so Ms. Luong decided not to sell anymore, will bring it home to dry and store in boxes.

Ms. Luong said: “In the spring crop, fresh rice in the field was 5,700 - 6,000 VND/kg; last year's summer-autumn rice also fluctuated from 5,500 - 5,700 VND/kg. This summer-autumn crop,low rice pricesAt this price, farmers do not make a profit because input costs have increased.

Because rice prices are low, people are not in a hurry to sell but dry and store them. Photo: Thanh Phuc

This summer-autumn crop, Ms. Nguyen Thi Oanh's family in Hung Nguyen town grows 8 sao of rice, using high-quality rice varieties. The rice crop is good, after harvesting and drying, her family gets nearly 2 tons of rice. "The rice has been dried and cleaned, and we plan to sell 1 ton to pay for land preparation, harvesting, fertilizer and buy seeds for winter planting, but the price of rice is too low, so there is no profit and we have not found a place to import it yet," Ms. Oanh said.

According to the survey, the current price of rice is low, ranging from 4,000 - 4,500 VND/kg of fresh rice; for high quality rice varieties, the price is higher, around 5,100 - 5,500 VND/kg of fresh rice. As for dried rice, the price is 5,800 - 6,000 VND/kg. Compared to the spring crop, the price has decreased by about 12-15 (equivalent to 1,200 - 1,500 VND/kg).

Sellers are hesitant to sell because the price of rice is too low, while buyers are only buying sparingly because the disease is unpredictable and transportation is expensive, not as massive as before.

Rice prices are low so traders are buying sparingly. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Luong Son in Nghi Thuan commune (Nghi Loc), a trader specializing in purchasing rice in Nghi Loc district, said: "Currently, rice prices are low, but I do not dare to buy much. I have been doing this for ten years, but I have never seen rice in stock like this year. I cannot import rice because large purchasing enterprises and agents have temporarily stopped importing."

According to Mr. Vo Ly - a trader specializing in purchasing rice in Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen, Dien Chau, Nam Dan, said that in previous seasons, he bought about 100 tons of rice every day, each peak season he bought 3,000 tons of rice for Northern traders, and exported to China. Before the harvest, he contacted local traders to collect rice, buy fresh rice right in the field, but this year, he only dared to buy in moderation. From the beginning of the summer-autumn crop until now, he has only bought about 100 tons of rice.

Many agents said that there are currently hundreds of tons of rice in stock, with no place to sell. Photo: Thanh Phuc

“Currently, there are still 100 tons of spring rice in stock, so this summer-autumn crop, although the price of rice is low, I still do not dare to spend a lot of money to buy rice. Because the domestic market is difficult to consume, exporting to China is difficult and the transportation cost is too high. Therefore, I am holding back on purchasing and only buying dried and cleaned rice in limited quantities,” said Mr. Ly.

The reason for the low rice price is the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, making export difficult. Among them, Indian and Thai rice imported to Vietnam at cheaper prices has affected the domestic rice market. Therefore, businesses operating in the rice processing sector are forced to reduce prices to compete, thereby affecting the purchase price of raw materials. Currently, the price of rice in the whole country is falling sharply.

The reason for the low rice price is due to complicated disease developments and export difficulties. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In addition, due to the complicated epidemic, limited means of transportation, high transportation costs (about 3 million VND/10 tons, 1 million VND higher than in 2020), in addition, many localities in the province are currently implementing social distancing, to enter localities to purchase rice, there are additional costs for Covid-19 testing... so traders are not very interested in purchasing summer-autumn rice.

The volatility and seasonal nature of the rice market once again shows thatlink with businessesfrom sowing to purchasing is essential.

Thanh Phuc