Farmers struggle as rice trader canceled their deposits

Costly travels and difficulties in passing through Covid-19 checkpoints have had traders accepted to drop the deposit for rice purchase, resulting in the Mekong Delta rice prices’ sharp decrease.

The travel fee had increased, passing through Covid-19 checkpoints had been difficult, leading to the sharp decrease in rice price, so many traders had accepted to drop the deposit. Photo: Minh Dam.

Traders drop the deposit for rice purchase

The selling price of several rice varieties at the moment has decreased by VND 200-600/kg compared to the beginning of the crop (in which, the price of Dai Thom 8 and RVT suffered the most, down VND 600/kg). The reason is that there are few buyers, while transportation costs are increasingly high, especially the cost of boats transporting from the field to the border checkpoint as well as the fee for loading and unloading at the checkpoint. If the Covid-19 epidemic situation still remains complicated in the near future, rice prices will continue to drop.

As said by Mr. Duong Van Ngay, Trung Hung I A hamlet, Vinh Hung A commune, Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu province, since he is acquainted with some traders, he did not accept deposits. About 15 days before cutting, Mr. Ngai called to inform the buyer. At first, there are full of promises, but the next time he called, they are all "unable to connect". Now, Mr. Ngay is on pins and needles as the rice price is only VND 5,000/kg, but even so, buyers are nowhere to be found.

According to Mr. Tran Van Na, Director of the Bac Lieu Plantation and Plant Protection Sub-Department, part of the reason why traders accept to drop the deposit is the expensive travel costs, difficulties in passing through checkpoints, with each locality having different regulations… In this summer-autumn crop, the rice output of Bac Lieu province is estimated at over 346 thousand tons, but more than 60% of rice volume needs to be supported by businesses and traders outside the province.

Currently, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with the districts in the province to grasp the situation of workforce and means of transport for the harvest. Any locality lacking in workers or means of transportation needs to immediately determine the specific location and volume of transportation so that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development can cooperate with the Military Command of Bac Lieu province and the Executive Committee of Military Zone 9 to promptly mobilize and support farmers in the transportation.

It is difficult for rice harvesters to travel through many provinces

According to the Soc Trang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, a number of harvesters in Hau Giang province bordering Soc Trang province have now been brought to the fields to harvest. Since this is the high time for the rice harvest, the province organizes harvesting using the "sweeping” method on each large field to reduce the pressure of lack of harvesters.

Despite being passive due to the implementation of social distancing in neighboring localities, making it difficult to bring the machines to the far fields, the harvesters’ working price is stable at VND 260,000 - 280,000/1,000 m2. Traders and businesses have come for purchases, but still in small numbers. Therefore, the rice consumption price remains at a low level.

After July 19th, fresh rice sold in the field has a fluctuation of VND 5,200 - 5,500/kg, high quality rice varieties are about VND 5,800/kg, an average decrease of VND 300 - 500/kg compared to before the harvest.

Fruit consumption still has little progress

Mr. Lam Hoang Anh, an orange farmer in Thanh Xuan commune, Chau Thanh A district, Hau Giang said that the family's orange garden is currently in the harvest period, the remaining output is more than 10 tons, but it is difficult to consume. Regarding the current price of honey oranges selling at gardens, traders are only paying VND 8,000/kg, about 50% lower than usual.

In order to reduce the damage, in the past time, Mr. Hoang Anh has utilized social networks to sell oranges, but the consumption has not improved much. Mr. Hoang Anh also used Viettel post service to send goods to customers. However, the service is now unavailable because the staff’s health condition has worsened, so the goods are backlogged.

In the case of Mr. Tran Tuan Khai, Director of Tan Phuoc Agricultural Service Cooperative, Tan Phuoc district (Tien Giang), the cooperative's delivery market is mainly in Ho Chi Minh City, but starting from 0:00 on August 23rd, vehicles could not enter the inner city, neither the green channel. Therefore, the cooperative has decided to take a break for a few days to wait for new instructions.

Travel must comply with “local regulations”

Matters regarding the traffic through inter-provincial checkpoints and then into each locality's management area in the Mekong Delta have not been resolved. Mr. Le Van Khoa, Director of Son Hai Confectionery Company (Song Phu, Tam Binh, Vinh Long) informed: “These days, in the province, green zones are the hardest to come by. Next is the red zone, which is impossible for deliveries to make their way in. Now, we only sell to whoever comes directly to the company to buy”.

Mr. Ho Minh Hoang, Director of Viet Agricultural Service, Trading and Production Co., Ltd (Tra Vinh province) specializing in supplying agricultural materials, mainly fertilizers, to customers in the Mekong Delta added: To circulate through provinces such as Kien Giang, Bac Lieu, and Can Tho city, drivers have to prepare documents such as travel papers, test or quick tests certificate, implement 5K motto... The green zone is already hard to enter, but the red zone is even harder. In general, each locality has its own set of regulations that must be complied with”.