High demand
Currently, the price of straw mushrooms in the Mekong Delta provinces has increased sharply from 10,000 - 15,000 VND/kg compared to previous months. This is the joy of many straw mushroom farmers in the first days of the new year.
With 3 hectares of land (3,000 m2) growing straw mushrooms, Mr. Pham Thanh Quan (O Mon district, Can Tho city) could not help but be excited when the price of mushrooms increased: "Currently, most of the mushrooms have been almost harvested while the demand for straw mushrooms is at a high level, pushing up the price of straw mushrooms. This makes me very happy. After working hard to take care of them, I just hope that the effort I put in will be properly compensated."
According to this farmer, currently, type 1 straw mushrooms are purchased by traders at the field at 65,000 - 75,000 VND/kg. Type 2 and type 3 are priced at 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, 10,000 - 15,000 VND/kg higher than 2 months ago.
Using straw from his house to grow mushrooms, Mr. Le Chi Tam (Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City) is also happy when the price of mushrooms is high. “If in the previous crop, each kilogram of straw mushrooms that I grew was purchased by traders at 48,000 VND, now it has increased to 65,000 VND. Not only me but all farmers are happy with such a big increase. Because with a little better price, farmers will also make more profit,” said Mr. Tam.
Planted later than some other households, Mr. Vo Van Mon's (Chau Thanh district, Dong Thap province) rice mushroom field is in the harvest stage. When he heard that the mushroom price this time is much higher than usual, he was both happy and impatient: "The mushroom price has increased, I and many other mushroom growers are happy, especially when Tet is coming, everyone wants to make a little more profit to buy things for their house and children. Therefore, I just hope that when harvest time comes, the mushroom price will still remain at this level."
Material and labor costs both increase
Besides the joy, many farmers are still worried that the increase in straw mushroom prices also leads to an increase in agricultural material prices and labor costs, affecting profits.
Mr. Quan said that although the price has increased, the weather this time is not favorable, with a lot of wind, so the straw mushrooms he grows are not very good, on average each roll of straw only produces about 1.2 - 1.5 kg of mushrooms. Not to mention, the cost of labor and agricultural materials is also higher than other seasons.
“Normally, if the weather is favorable and there is a lot of straw for mushrooms, I only need to pay 48,000 - 55,000 VND to make a profit. But since the mushroom price has increased, the price of agricultural materials has also increased, some types have increased by several hundred thousand VND. I am currently hiring more workers to harvest while the mushrooms are still expensive, to compensate for the cost of agricultural materials. But because of that, the cost of hiring workers has increased, and the profit has also decreased,” Mr. Quan confided.
This crop's high mushroom prices have led to an increase in labor and agricultural material costs, but thanks to the availability of straw from his fields, Mr. Tam still makes a good profit. However, this farmer is also very impatient for the next crop, as the price of agricultural materials has not decreased, but the price of straw has increased.
“Every year, after the harvest, I will rent a machine to collect the straw into rolls to sell and leave some for growing mushrooms. On average, each roll of straw will produce 1.5 to 2 kg of mushrooms. Thanks to that, the profit is higher than those who buy it back. Next season, I have to buy straw. But now the rice crop is over, the straw supply has decreased. If a few months ago, the price of a roll of straw was only 30,000 VND, now it has increased to nearly 38,000 VND. The cost of agricultural materials has not decreased but the straw has increased like that, I am afraid that next season, I will not make much profit, or even break even or lose money if the mushroom price decreases and the straw produces less mushrooms,” Mr. Tam shared.
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