Dong Thap: Winter-spring rice prices continue to fall.

(DTO) Despite a bumper crop of winter-spring rice, farmers are worried as rice prices continue to fall.

The combine harvester is harvesting rice on Mr. Duc's family farm.

These days, farmers in the eastern localities of the province are focusing on completing the harvest of the winter-spring rice crop. This year, farmers in the Go Cong Freshwater Project area sowed more than 20,300 hectares of winter-spring rice. As the season draws to a close, rice prices are falling sharply, causing farmers to feel extremely anxious.

At noon on March 29th, farmers in Dong Son commune, Dong Thap province, were busily harvesting their winter-spring rice crop. When we arrived, Mr. Nguyen Van Duc (Thanh Lac hamlet, Dong Son commune) had just finished harvesting 0.5 hectares of Dai Thom 8 rice.

According to Mr. Duc, this year's winter-spring rice crop is more bountiful than last year, with an estimated yield of over 9 tons per hectare. However, he, like many local farmers, cannot be happy because the price of rice has dropped too low.

Mr. Duc stated: "Today, traders are buying Dai Thom 8 rice at only 5,500 VND/kg, a further drop. This is the lowest price in many years. At the beginning of the season, people sold Dai Thom 8 rice for 6,500 - 6,600 VND/kg."

With current rice prices, this season's profit will be less than in previous years. Rice prices keep falling while costs increase. This season, the price of combine harvesters has increased by 200,000 VND/ha. Farmers only make a profit if the price of rice is 7,000 VND/kg or higher.”

Not far from Mr. Duc's field, Mr. Nguyen Kim Phung is also waiting for a combine harvester to arrive and harvest his 0.9 hectares of Dai Thom 8 rice.

Mr. Phụng prepared the ropes to tie the sacks of rice.

Mr. Phung said: “During the recent autumn-winter crop season, the price of rice was low and the yield wasn't high, so my family lost more than 10 million dong. This year's winter-spring rice crop was bountiful, but the price is too low, so we're making little profit. In recent days, the price of rice has continued to fall. Compared to the beginning of the season, the price has decreased by about 1,000 dong/kg.”

Meanwhile, in Phu Thanh commune, Dong Thap province, the winter-spring rice crop is in the final stages of harvesting. This season, the 1.2 hectares of land belonging to Mr. Nguyen Thuan Hoa's family (Binh Ninh hamlet, Phu Thanh commune) were sown with the ST 25 variety. His family harvested it just one day ago and sold it at 6,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Hoa shared: “The closer it gets to the end of the harvest season, the cheaper the rice price becomes. Even though the rice crop was good, the price is too low. Some households that harvested at the beginning of the season, even though their crop wasn't good, still managed to sell at a higher price. Compared to the beginning of the season, the price of ST 25 rice has decreased by more than 1,200 VND/kg. I've never seen the price of ST 25 rice this low before.”

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Gai, a rice trader specializing in purchasing rice in the eastern part of the province, the Mekong Delta region is currently in the peak harvesting season for the winter-spring rice crop. This year's winter-spring rice crop has been bountiful, resulting in a very abundant supply.

Meanwhile, exports are still weak, resulting in a large surplus of rice in mills. This has caused rice prices to fall sharply compared to the beginning of the harvest season.

"I mainly buy rice from my regular suppliers. This harvest was so good that the amount I bought increased significantly. Sales are currently slow," said Ms. Gái.

Farmers in Phu Thanh commune are harvesting their winter-spring rice crop.

According to Mr. Huynh Van Danh, Director of Vinh Hien Co., Ltd. (Phu Thanh commune, Dong Thap province), this year's winter-spring crop saw the company purchase approximately 7,000 tons of various types of rice. At this point, the purchasing process is in its final stages.

In recent days, rice prices have continued to fall slightly. This is due to slow consumption and increased transportation costs, leading to a slight downward trend in rice prices. Given the current situation, both farmers and businesses are facing difficulties.

In response to these difficulties, the People's Committee of Dong Thap province has issued a document requesting departments, agencies, and localities to focus on implementing comprehensive solutions to strengthen the direction and management of rice production and consumption, adapting to the new market developments.

Accordingly, the Provincial People's Committee assigned the Department of Agriculture and Environment to take the lead and coordinate with relevant units to advise on and guide the organization of rice production, ensuring that the targets for area, yield, and output are achieved.

At the same time, guide farmers to properly implement technical procedures from production and harvesting to post-harvest preservation, ensuring food quality and safety. In particular, promote production linkage models connected to consumption along the value chain, improving production efficiency and the value of rice products.

The Department of Industry and Trade is responsible for monitoring market developments, supply and demand, and rice prices; and promptly providing information to relevant agencies, localities, and businesses to enable proactive management.

At the same time, coordinate support for businesses to strengthen the procurement, processing, and consumption of rice, especially during the peak harvest season, to avoid situations where ripe rice is not purchased. In particular, promote trade, connect consumption, and expand markets for the province's rice products…

The State Bank of Vietnam, Regional Branch 13, directs credit institutions in the area to create favorable conditions for businesses, cooperatives, and traders to access credit sources for purchasing, storing, processing, and selling rice in accordance with regulations…

T. DAT

Source: https://baodongthap.vn/dong-thap-gia-lua-dong-xuan-tiep-tiep-giam-a238900.html