China stops buying, betel nut prices plummet in many areas.

Just a month ago, the price of betel nuts peaked at 90,000 VND/kg, with many people even saying that selling 100 kg of betel nuts could buy 1 tael of gold. Traders from all over flocked to localities such as Hung Son, Cao Son, Hoa Son (Anh Son); Thanh Nho, Thanh Hoa, Cat Van (Thanh Chuong), and some communes in Do Luong… to buy betel nuts.

However, for more than half a month now, the price of betel nuts has sharply declined. From 90,000 VND to 80,000 VND/kg, then plummeted to 50,000 VND/kg, and now it's only 25-30,000 VND/kg.

“I never expected the price of betel nuts to drop so quickly. The previous harvest was selling for 80,000 VND/kg, traders were begging to buy them, they picked and weighed them themselves, and I just had to calculate the money and collect it. But with this harvest, just 15 days after harvesting, the price has dropped to only a third of that, and no one has even inquired about buying them yet,” said Ms. Hoang Thi Hoi, a resident of Ngoc Son commune (Do Luong district).

In Thanh Chuong - the locality with the largest number of betel nuts for harvesting in the province - the current price of beautiful, grade 1 betel nuts is 50,000 VND/kg, while grade 2 and 3 betel nuts range from 25-30,000 VND/kg.

Ms. Le Thi Huong's family in Thanh Nho commune (Thanh Chuong district) planted 300 betel nut trees. At the end of September, she sold nearly 150 kg of betel nuts for 70,000 VND each. Now, with many bunches ready for harvest, the price has dropped. "Beautiful betel nuts used to fetch 40,000-50,000 VND/kg, but now that the price has fallen, traders are being selective, only buying beautiful, ripe betel nuts instead of buying in bulk like before," Ms. Dan said.

Not only have prices dropped, but selling betel nuts has also become difficult. At one point, about five days ago, traders stopped buying them altogether.

Although betel nut prices have decreased, they are still relatively high compared to previous years. At this price level, betel nut growers still have a significant source of income and are not significantly affected. Moreover, it is currently the end of the season, and there are not many betel nuts left in farmers' gardens.

Mr. Ha Huy Thach, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cao Son commune (Anh Son district), said: "Areca palms are easy to plant and care for, are rarely affected by pests and diseases, and require low fertilizer costs. Areca palms begin to bear fruit when they are 5 years old, and the fruiting period can last for decades. Under good care conditions, each areca palm tree yields an average of 18-20 kg of fruit."

For "peak fruiting" betel nut trees (those in their peak fruiting period), each tree typically has 3 main bunches, each weighing about 7-8 kg, plus smaller fruits, yielding nearly 30 kg in total. If the price of betel nuts is between 30,000 and 40,000 VND/kg, each tree can generate an average income of over 1 million VND. Currently, it's the end of the season, so there aren't many betel nuts left."

However, the most worrying thing is that when China stops buying, the situation of betel nuts falling to the ground will repeat itself, forcing many households to cut them down as in previous years. "Previously, Cao Son had hundreds of households growing betel nuts on a relatively large area. Some years, the price of betel nuts plummeted, to only 2,000-3,000 VND/kg, and even then, there were no buyers, so many had to cut them down," Mr. Thach added.

Currently, in some localities such as Quang Ngai and Quang Nam, the price of betel nuts has dropped to only 25-30,000 VND/kg, and Chinese traders have stopped buying, leaving some drying facilities with large quantities of unsold goods.

Accordingly, traders in Nghe An province predict that betel nut prices will be difficult to recover in the near future and may continue to fall after the harvest season ends. The drying facilities are also operating at a reduced capacity compared to before.

"After this batch is sold out, we'll decide whether to continue or stop depending on the situation. China isn't importing as much as before. We're also limiting our purchases to gauge the price. If we continue buying and drying now, and the price drops further, we'll not only lose money but might also end up with unsold inventory," a betel nut drying facility owner in Nam Dan informed.

This is not the first time betel nut prices have hit record highs only to suddenly plummet, as the market for betel nuts depends entirely on China. Therefore, despite this year's unexpected high prices, local authorities are still advising people not to chase the price increase by expanding their cultivation area.