Durian prices in Gia Lai increase, farmers share experiences in signing contracts to ensure their benefits

Durian prices are high

The news that Thai durians have failed due to unfavorable weather has made many farmers in Gia Lai optimistic that the domestic price of this fruit will increase even more. In addition, due to the weather, durians in Dak Lak province have recently lost a lot of fruit, which will affect the output. Meanwhile, some localities in the West or Binh Phuoc province have finished harvesting durians. These are factors that have pushed up the domestic price of durian.

These days, Mr. Chau Van Han's garden (Cat Tan village, Ia Bang commune) has welcomed many traders from the West to offer prices and discuss signing contracts to purchase Thai durian. Photo: TN

Recently, many traders from other provinces have flocked to Gia Lai to buy durian. They are willing to pay high prices and deposit to buy durian when there is only about half a month left until the peak harvest season. In large gardens, businesses come directly to the site to sign purchase contracts with strict terms that are beneficial to both parties. In many gardens with low yields, traders also come to close on prices, but the arrangement of workers to cut the fruit is not favorable, so people have not signed contracts yet.

In Ia Bang commune (Chu Prong district), farmers have been harvesting durian sporadically for half a month now and are preparing to enter the peak harvest season. These days, Mr. Chau Van Han's family (Cat Tan village, Ia Bang commune) has welcomed many traders from the West coming to discuss signing contracts to purchase Thai durian.

Mr. Han excitedly said: “My garden this year has a good yield, the fruit quality is good, so traders came to visit and offered to sign a purchase contract at 80,000 VND/kg. With this price and an output of about 35 tons, after deducting all expenses, my family still has a profit of about 2.4 billion VND.”

With experience in growing durian, many gardeners have "forced" the trees to flower many times to harvest over a period of about 50-60 days. Extending the harvest period helps gardeners avoid having to concentrate their output at one time, so the price will be better, and they will no longer depend too much on traders, which can easily lead to price pressure.

Although durian prices are high, many farmers are still cautiously waiting to finalize sales contracts with traders to ensure their interests. Photo: TN

Mr. Dao Duy Quynh - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cao Nguyen Agricultural Cooperative (Ia Ba commune, Ia Grai district) said: The cooperative currently has 100 hectares of durian of its members. This area has been granted 2 growing area codes since 2023. The estimated durian output in this year's harvest is about 1,000 tons and will start harvesting in about 10 days. Currently, many traders have entered the garden to compete to buy. In some gardens, there is a phenomenon of early fruit falling, members have cut prices and harvested, but there are gardens that have not yet finalized prices.

“With my experience, I think that cutting the price of bulk sales is much more beneficial than fixing the price of sandwich sales. At this time, the demand for durian for export is very high, so the price is likely to continue to increase. Hopefully this year, the price of durian will remain high until the end of the season so that farmers and members of the Cooperative can have a bumper crop,” Mr. Quynh shared.

According to Mr. Quynh, learning from the previous crop, due to weather changes, durians may fall earlier than expected, so if traders do not cut them early, it will affect the harvest because large-scale growers have to collect fallen fruits for retail. Meanwhile, if the harvest is not as expected and the fruit is left on the tree for a long time, it will weaken the tree, affecting the next crop. Currently, durian prices are high, Ri6 durian is priced at 55-60 thousand VND/kg, Thai durian is priced at 70-80 thousand VND/kg.

Be careful in fixing durian prices

The durian harvest in Gia Lai comes earlier than in Dak Lak. Therefore, currently, some traders from Dak Lak, Binh Phuoc and the Western provinces have begun to flock to durian growing areas in Chu Prong, Ia Grai and Chu Pah districts to offer prices. Although the prices offered by traders are quite high, many experienced gardeners are still waiting and waiting until the harvest to make a decision.

Traders buy durian. Photo: TN

Mr. Nguyen The Minh - Director of Nghia Hoa Agricultural Service Cooperative (Chu Pah district) said: A few days ago, a company exporting goods to China came to the gardens of the Cooperative members to survey, it is expected that in about 1 week, Ri6 durian will be cut, and the first batch of Thai durian will be cut in about 12 days. Current prices depend on the beauty of the garden but fluctuate at 55-60 thousand VND/kg for Ri6 durian, 75-80 thousand VND/kg for Thai durian.

By the end of 2023, the whole province will have 5,689 hectares of durian, concentrated in the districts of Chu Prong, Chu Se, Ia Grai, Chu Pah, Chu Puh, Duc Co, Dak Doa, Mang Yang... Durian output in 2023 will reach about 44,150 tons. Currently, the whole province has been granted 54 durian growing area codes with an area of ​​1,289.67 hectares.

“The price depends largely on the quality of all the fruit in the garden, whether it is good or bad. But people need to be careful when signing a contract to sell in the form of “2 for 1” or “2 for 2” (meaning the good fruit is sandwiched with the bad fruit).

There was a case in the previous crop where people signed a contract for 80,000 VND/kg, but after cutting the goods, it was only 50,000 VND/kg, or when they signed a contract for 70,000 VND/kg, it was only 40,000 VND/kg," Mr. Minh shared.

According to Mr. Minh, there are unexpected fluctuations in the purchase of durian. For example, one year, traders set the price at the garden at 50,000 VND/kg, but when it was time to cut the durian, the price went up to 70,000 VND/kg, so they cut it all. On the contrary, there were cases where traders signed a contract for 70,000 VND/kg, but when it was time to cut the durian, the market price dropped to only 50,000 VND/kg, so they forfeited their deposit.

There are also cases where people cheat, signing contracts to sell to traders for 50,000 VND/kg, but when the day of cutting, the market price rises to over 70,000 VND/kg, they fertilize and water a lot, making the durian segments hard and unable to be cut. From there, they have an excuse to cancel the contract and sell to others at a higher price.

Ms. Le Thi Ngoc Son - Deputy Director of the Agricultural Service Center of Chu Pah District - said: Durian is a fruit tree with high economic value. The whole district has about 700 hectares of durian. Currently, people have started the harvest season. Some people sign contracts with traders from the beginning and monitor the orchard to cut old fruit; some people watch for durian to fall to sell to small traders in the area.

Currently, the price of durian on the market is very high, so with their experience, people often do not cut the price right from the beginning but rely on the actual price, and fix the price accordingly. "We have advised people to monitor price fluctuations and carefully study the purchase contracts signed with traders to avoid any disadvantages," said Ms. Son.

Source: https://danviet.vn/gia-sau-rieng-o-gia-lai-tang-cao-nong-dan-chia-se-kinh-nghiem-ky-hop-dong-de-dam-bao-loi-ich-cua-minh-20240622080547587.htm