The winter-spring rice crop was bountiful, but prices were low.

Thanks to favorable weather conditions, the yield of the 2025-2026 Winter-Spring rice crop in Dong Thap was quite high, but the purchase price remained low, resulting in negligible profits for rice farmers.

Báo Tin Tức•10/03/2026

Photo caption — Farmers in Dong Thap province are entering the peak harvesting season for the 2025-2026 Winter-Spring rice crop.

According to observations in key rice-producing areas, farmers are currently urgently harvesting the winter-spring rice crop, with some areas in the Go Cong freshwater zone entering the peak harvesting season. Although rice prices are slightly higher than the previous autumn-winter crop, the overall price level remains low, failing to meet the expectations of rice growers.

Mr. Dang Quoc Cuong, a farmer from Tan Hoa commune, said that for the 2025-2026 Winter-Spring rice crop, his family cultivated 2 hectares of ST25 rice variety. This year, the weather was quite favorable, so the rice fields developed well and yielded high productivity. However, the price of rice was not as expected, making the joy of a bumper harvest incomplete. Currently, ST25 rice is being purchased by traders at the field for only about 7,000 - 7,500 VND/kg; Dai Thom 8 at about 6,500 VND/kg, OM 380 at about 5,600 VND/kg, and Nang Hoa at 6,500 VND/kg.

Similarly, Mr. Pham Van Thanh's family in Long Hai hamlet, Long Binh commune, also recently harvested over 2 hectares of winter-spring rice, of the Dai Thom 8 variety. After harvesting, the yield reached approximately 8 tons/ha, a fairly high level compared to recent years. However, the purchase price of rice at the field only reached about 6,580 VND/kg, an increase of about 1,000 VND/kg compared to the previous autumn-winter crop, but still not enough to cover production costs. In previous years, rice production also suffered losses, but not as significant as recently because input costs such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides were lower then. In reality, the price of rice needs to be 7,000 VND/kg or higher for farmers to make a decent profit, Mr. Thanh shared.

According to Mr. Cao Tho Truong, Deputy Director of Binh Thanh Agricultural Service Cooperative, Lap Vo commune, Dong Thap province, the cooperative has harvested about 60-70% of the winter-spring rice crop, with a yield of about 10 tons/ha, an increase of 2 tons compared to the previous season. The average selling price for OM 18 and Dai Thom 8 rice varieties is 6,000 VND/kg, VNR98 rice is 5,700 VND/kg, and Long An glutinous rice is 7,000 VND/kg. These prices are slightly higher than the previous season, but not significantly so.

Mr. Chau Van Phuoc, from Tan Hoa commune, Dong Thap province, also stated that, in the context of increasing production costs, the fact that rice prices remain low is causing many difficulties for rice farmers, especially those who rent land for production, as the higher the costs, the lower the profit.

According to farmers, besides input costs, the current rice market is not yet thriving, making it difficult for rice prices to rise sharply. Some traders said that demand for rice still exists, but the export market is not stable, so the purchase price at the farm is not high.

In this context, many farmers hope that the agricultural sector and local authorities will continue to support them in connecting with consumers, expanding export markets, and encouraging them to switch to high-quality rice varieties to increase the value of rice grains.

Mr. Huynh Van Danh, Director of Vinh Hien Co., Ltd. (Phu Thanh commune, Dong Thap province), said that currently, the general price of rice remains low. The company is purchasing Dai Thom 8 rice at 6,500 VND/kg, about 700 VND/kg higher than the Autumn-Winter crop. In this year's Winter-Spring rice crop, the company is collaborating with cooperatives in the area to guarantee the purchase of products from approximately 400 hectares, primarily Dai Thom 8 and OM 5451 rice varieties.

Agricultural experts also believe that, in the long term, the solution to ensuring profitability for rice farmers is to strengthen the links between farmers, cooperatives, and businesses, thereby building a stable production and consumption chain.

While waiting for the market to improve, many farmers in Dong Thap continue to hope that rice prices will improve in the near future, so that their hard work throughout the more than three-month-long crop season will be adequately rewarded.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Dong Thap province, farmers in Dong Thap planted 224,307 hectares of crops during the 2025-2026 Winter-Spring season. To date, over 66,000 hectares have been harvested, yielding 475,000 tons.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/lua-dong-xuan-duoc-mua-nhung-gia-thap-20260310115916439.htm