Lam Dong's specialty avocados have dropped sharply in price.

Avocado variety 034 (two fruits per kilogram) sold at markets and on sidewalks in Saigon ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 VND per kilogram, a 20% decrease compared to last year.

A survey in Ho Chi Minh City shows that avocado variety 034 - a famous specialty fruit from Lam Dong province - is widely sold on Thong Nhat and Pham Van Chieu streets (Go Vap district), Pham Van Dong street (Thu Duc district), and Dien Bien Phu street (Binh Thanh district) at significantly lower prices compared to the same period last year.

Mr. Hoang, a vendor on Thong Nhat Street (Go Vap District), said that in previous years, retailers imported 100-200 kg at a time, but now that has decreased by half. Therefore, wholesalers like him often have to sell their goods on the sidewalk. He sells the larger size (2 fruits per kg) for 20,000 VND per kg, and the smaller ones for 12,000 VND per kg. This is half the wholesale price he used to offer to retailers.

Avocado 034 sold on the sidewalk of Le Duc Tho Street (Go Vap). Photo: Hong Chau — Avocado 034 sold on the sidewalk of Le Duc Tho Street (Go Vap). Photo: *Hong Chau*

According to Ms. Loan, the owner of a street vendor's cart on Pham Van Dong Street, a combo of 3 kg of 034 avocados costs 50,000 VND, the lowest price ever for this specialty fruit. "Every day, I only sell 30-50 kg, half of what I sold last year," Ms. Loan said.

Retailers are experiencing sluggish sales, and traders are also complaining about slow consumption despite the sharp drop in avocado prices. Ms. Nguyen Thanh Mai, an agricultural trader in the Central Highlands, said that last year, each shipment to Ho Chi Minh City was 5-10 tons, but now it's only a few hundred kilograms for individual buyers. Domestic consumption is slow, and exports to Cambodia and Thailand have also decreased by 20% compared to the same period last year.

At the orchards, Mr. Thanh, who owns 3 hectares of 034 avocado trees in Lam Dong, also reported that the wholesale price of avocados (two fruits per kilogram) has dropped sharply, to only 5,000-8,000 VND per kilogram. At this price, Mr. Thanh said, orchard owners "almost make no profit".

"In the future, I will intercrop other types of plants and gradually replace the avocado trees," he said.

Avocado variety 034 began to be grown in Lam Dong province in 2009, and by 2012, several dozen households were cultivating it. However, this fruit is now widely available throughout the Central Highlands provinces. At one point, this avocado variety sold for 200,000 VND per kilogram for the smaller variety (two fruits per kilogram), but its price has been continuously falling in recent years.

Explaining the reason, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Mai, a trader who buys agricultural products in the Central Highlands, said that the price of this fruit has dropped rapidly due to increasingly weak demand. The quality of the harvested fruit this year is also inconsistent as many farmers are not as enthusiastic about caring for their crops as in previous years.

Every year, provincial People's Committees propose solutions to connect agricultural product consumption, but supply exceeds demand, causing prices to continuously fall. Some businesses in the area are planning to further process this fruit, but consumer demand is low due to the impact of the global economic recession.

According to statistics from Lam Dong province, the province currently has about 10,000 hectares of avocado trees, of which avocado variety 034 accounts for 25%. The area planted with avocado variety 034 in Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Kon Tum, and Gia Lai has increased to tens of thousands of hectares, 7-8 times more than 5 years ago.

Hong Chau

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