Strawberry crop fails continuously, gardeners suffer heavy losses

If every year at this time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuan (Vi Thanh City, Hau Giang Province) has harvested 27 clusters of strawberries to sell to traders and her pocket is full of profit, this year's strawberry crop, Ms. Thuan sadly lost more than 50 million VND because her strawberry garden failed.

Many gardeners are losing money because of crop failure. Photo: Ngoc Anh

Ms. Thuan said: “My family has 300 mulberry trees of many different varieties, with an average yield of about 70 tons/crop, after deducting expenses, the profit is nearly 280 million VND. However, this year the mulberry garden had a bad harvest, not only did it not make a profit but also suffered a heavy loss.”

Talking about the reason for the strawberry crop failure, Ms. Thuan said: The prolonged hot weather, erratic weather, and susceptible plants to disease, despite investments in fertilizer and water pumping, still could not save this year's yield, some plants did not produce any fruit.

15 leather workers of Mr. Pham Huu Thanh (Phong Dien district, Can Tho city) also suffered crop failure, the yield decreased sharply, causing his family to have no income.

"The yield decreased but the selling price was not high. After deducting all expenses, I lost about 20 million VND this season. Last year, the strawberry garden also had a bad harvest, the yield was lower than previous seasons but I still made a little profit. This year, I lost money," said Mr. Thanh.

Despite the decrease in output, the price of strawberries recorded at traditional markets in Can Tho City and Hau Giang Province is still not too high, ranging from 12,000 to 20,000 VND/kg. Many traders said that although the strawberry market has decreased this year, the selling price is still the same as every year because purchasing power is at an average level.

Strawberries currently cost between 12,000 - 20,000 VND/kg. Photo: Ngoc Anh

According to the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Hau Giang province, the total mulberry growing area in the province is 182.9 hectares. Of which, the area currently being harvested is 162 hectares, with an estimated average yield of 12.8 tons/ha and an estimated output of over 2,000 tons. Most of the growing areas are small-scale, not concentrated, mainly grown in Chau Thanh A, Chau Thanh, and Phung Hiep districts.

To limit diseases for mulberry trees, the agricultural sector of Hau Giang province has surveyed, proactively guided and proposed solutions for farmers to limit diseases, increase productivity for mulberry gardens, and develop an early warning system for weather and diseases.

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/dau-da-mat-mua-lien-tiep-nha-vuon-lo-nang-1356877.ldo