Circulation for rice and fruit remains difficult

Summer-autumn rice and fruit in the Cuu Long Delta are in the harvest season. However, both businesses and farmers have difficulty in purchase and consumption.

The fruit business in the Cuu Long Delta, especially collecting fruit from one commune to another, has made it extremely difficult for traders. Photo: Le Hoang Vu.

Difficult to transport, rice prices drop

According to Mr. Pham Thai Binh, General Director of Trung An High-Tech JSC, due to the implementation of social distancing according to Directive 16, the transportation of rice products is greatly affected.

The situation on the rice export market is still normal, but the sea freight has continued to increase. The shipping price for a 20-foot container increases 10 times, the price changes every month, unable to be known in advance.

Currently, the 2021 summer-autumn rice in the large fields of Trung An Company has been harvested. Other large fields of the company are also about to be harvested in the Long Xuyen Quadrangle (in An Giang and Kien Giang provinces), accounting for about 30-40% of the demand.

However, at the moment, it is difficult to find boats to buy rice from the field and transport it to the factory. In rural areas, farmers mainly sell rice through traders. However, traders are afraid of risks and losses, so they rarely let boats return to the fields for purchase.

In Tien Giang, Mr. Vo Quoc Hung, Deputy Director of Phuoc Dat Co., Ltd. shared that currently, the export price of rice is USD 390/ton, a sharp decrease compared to before (USD 500/ton). Due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, some businesses had to close down because of their inability to execute the "three on spot" and concerns about the effects on health.

Fruit is still hanging in wait for traders

Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Mekong Green Cooperative, lamented: For more than a week, the cooperative could not buy or sell anything. Meanwhile, before the social distancing period, the cooperative purchased and exported to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City 5-10 tons of fruit per day on average. But now, the cargo trucks are nowhere to be found. Currently, the cooperative has 2 tons of melons left, and pomelos in the garden are negotiated with garden owners to be remained on the trees to wait for the upcoming situation.

According to Mr. Nguyen Minh Tam, Director of Phu Thuan Cooperative (Phu Thuan commune, Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province): The product is not produced according to VietGAP standards, unable to be sold in fresh food supermarket chains and stores as a result. From the day the wholesale market closed until now, implementing social distancing according to Directive 16, the cooperative has not been able to ship any goods. At the moment, the cooperative has a backlog of about 7 tons of Euphoria longana and 70,000 Siamese coconuts.

In longan growing areas, especially in blockaded areas, there is a shortage of laborers to perform tasks such as harvesting, loading and unloading, and production. Meanwhile, longan fruit is seasonal, consumed in a short time, therefore this has affected the shipping time to the purchasing units and businesses.

As noted, many longan growers in Chau Thanh district (Dong Thap) are still facing many difficulties, the day of ripening has come, but longan has not received calls from traders to ask to purchase. Although the price of longan is falling to a low level, instead of 3 months ago, the price of Euphoria longana is from VND 35,000 - 40,000/kg, now it has decreased to VND 8,000/kg, unable to sell. Longan farmers are at a loss because even though the investment costs increased this year, at the end of the crop, nothing can be sold.