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| Farmers from An Ngai Group, Long Dat district, are loading sacks of freshly harvested winter-spring rice onto a truck. |
Last weekend, members of the An Ngai Group (Long Dat district) were busy harvesting the winter-spring crop. In the fields, rice harvesting machines ran continuously, and farmers hurriedly loaded sacks of freshly harvested rice onto trucks to be transported to the warehouse. Mr. Nguyen Manh Da, Group Leader of An Ngai Group, said that by this time, the group had harvested more than 60% of the total 76 hectares, with a fairly high yield of 7-7.5 tons/ha.
“Despite a good harvest, rice prices have dropped sharply this year. From mid-January 2025 until now, the prices of most rice varieties have started to fall, and by harvest time, prices are still quite low, currently only 5,500 VND/kg, a decrease of about 2,300 VND/kg compared to the same period last year. At this price, farmers still make a profit, but it's low; on average, after deducting costs, farmers only earn about 20 million VND per hectare,” Mr. Da said.
According to local farmers, thanks to favorable weather, abundant water resources, and adherence to proper cultivation techniques, yields reached 7-8 tons per hectare. Mr. Tran Anh Tien, a farmer from Phuoc Thuan commune, Xuyen Moc district, said: “For farmers, the winter-spring crop is the main crop of the year, so everyone hopes for a bountiful harvest. However, the joy is not complete due to the situation of ‘bumper harvest - low prices.’ The price of rice has decreased, so profits have also decreased. For example, my family only earned about 20 million VND per hectare this season, a decrease of 15 million VND compared to last year.”
The entire province has sown over 6,200 hectares of winter-spring rice, mainly planting high-quality, fragrant, and short-duration rice varieties such as OM5451, OM504, OM4900, Dai Thom 8, Loc Troi, ML 48, OM 18, ST24, ST25… According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment, the reason for the sharp drop in rice purchase prices since the beginning of the season is that India has lifted its ban on rice exports, while many countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, which are major rice export markets for Vietnam, have achieved food self-sufficiency, reducing the demand for rice imports. Meanwhile, provinces with large rice-growing areas are also in the peak harvesting season for the 2024-2025 winter-spring rice crop, resulting in abundant supply.
To ensure the timely harvesting of the winter-spring rice crop, the provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment continues to coordinate with localities to inspect and monitor the rice purchasing situation, preventing price manipulation by middlemen or delays in rice procurement that could affect farmers' sales.
Text and photos: DONG HIEU
Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/kinh-te/202504/gia-lua-giam-nong-dan-that-thu-vu-dong-xuan-1039139/
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