PQ tangerines, a specialty of Nghe An, are unsold again. They are sold at 2,000 VND/kg but still have no buyers.

Mr. Hoang Thanh Hoai's family in Chong hamlet, Nghia Yen commune (Nghia Dan) has 1 hectarePQ tangerinesplanted 7 years ago, still full of fruit on the tree.

Mr. Hoai said that this tangerine crop yielded an estimated 30 tons of fruit, and it was thought that most of the fruit would be harvested during the Lunar New Year and the rest would be harvested after January. Unexpectedly, only about 2 tons of fruit were sold during Tet, and after Tet, traders did not buy them, so they had to let the tangerines fall all over the ground.

Mr. Hoang Thanh Hoai's family's PQ tangerine garden still has most of the fruit, but no traders come to buy. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"In previous years, tangerines were sold for the lowest price of 5,000 VND/kg, but they sold quickly; this year, it's only 2,000 VND/kg and no one is buying them. Except for about 7 tons of fallen tangerines, there are currently about 20 tons of tangerines left in the garden. I don't know what to do now. Meanwhile, the tangerines have sprouted and flowered, but the fruit cannot be harvested, which will affect the quality of the next crop," Mr. Hoang Thanh Hoai worried.

Not only Mr. Hoai's family, but all households growing tangerines in Nghia Yen commune and neighboring communes: Nghia Mai, Nghia Lam... cannot sell them. Every tangerine garden is full of ripe yellow fruits but there are no traders coming to buy them.

This year, tangerine growers in Nghia Dan district suffered losses because they could not sell their tangerines. Photo: Quang An

Mr. Hoang Van Phuc - Chairman of Nghia Yen Commune People's Committee said: The whole commune has 102 hectares of PQ tangerines, of which 93 hectares have been harvested. The most urgent problem is that tangerines cannot be sold, making tangerine growers restless. Tangerines here are grown on red basalt soil, so they have high productivity, from 20 - 30 tons of fruit/ha. Due to slow consumption, by March 8, the number of tangerines sold was only about 10% of the fruit output, the remaining 90% were still on the tree.

"People grow a lot of tangerines because beforemarketGood consumption, stable prices, many areas of sugarcane, acacia, corn... people have switched to growing PQ tangerines. This year tangerines cannot be sold, possibly due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, unable to trade," said Mr. Hoang Van Phuc.

Unable to sell, the tangerines had to be left to fall all over the garden. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Mr. Lam Van Thang - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghia Dan district said that currently in the district there are 400 hectares of PQ tangerines for harvest, concentrated in the communes of Nghia Yen, Nghia Mai, Nghia Tho... Due to slow consumption market, tangerines are currently "hanging" on the trees, unable to be sold.

Mr. Thang said that tangerines are starting to giveharvestduring Tet, but this year only about 1/3 of the output has been sold, currently there are still thousands of tons "hanging" on the trees. The district has not had any solution to rescue tangerines for the people, but is waiting for the market.

Many tangerine trees have bloomed for the new season, but there are still many old tangerine trees left, forcing rescue. Photo: Quang An

According to the farmers, tangerines are easy to care for, require little investment, but bring in quite a high income. This year, tangerines cannot be sold, which means that tangerine growers have lost their harvest. But what is more worrying is that the tangerines have reached the stage of budding and flowering, while the fruit is still on the tree, which will affect the yield and quality of tangerines for the next crop.

People were forced to post on social networking sites, hoping that benefactors would rescue tangerines for farmers. Photo: Quang An

Worried about their tangerine orchards, Nghe An farmers are restless. Many young people have called for help on social media, but the results have not been very positive.