Rice price increase - some happy, others worried

Currently, the price of rice is higher than every year.

Visiting some rice retailers in Dien Bien Phu City, we noted that rice prices are at a high level. According to rice traders, over the past 2 months, rice prices in the market have been continuously increasing. Up to now, rice prices have increased by an average of 3,000 - 5,000 VND/kg compared to the beginning of the year. In particular, some local rice varieties have increased sharply, such as: Tam Thom 20,000 VND/kg (up 3,000 VND/kg); Seng Cu 35,000 VND/kg (up 5,000 VND/kg); Upland sticky rice 40,000 VND/kg (increased by 5,000 VND/kg)... Not only rice, input rice prices also increased by 2 - 3 thousand VND/kg compared to the same period in 2023. Specifically, the price of Bac Thom No. 7 rice fluctuates from 15 - 18 thousand VND/kg, Seng Cu from 18 - 21,000 VND/kg, upland sticky rice from 16 - 20,000 VND/kg...

According to Ms. Dinh Thi Luong, a rice dealer at Nam Thanh market, over the past month, retail rice prices in the province have increased continuously, especially for specialty rice varieties such as Tam Thom, Seng Cu, ST25, and Nếp Nương... The reason is that this year the export price of rice nationwide has increased, affecting the Dien Bien rice market. While this is an essential food, the daily demand is high. In addition, floods have damaged many rice areas, affecting the productivity and output of rice in the province.

People buy rice at Nam Thanh market, Dien Bien Phu city.

The high price of rice has brought great excitement to rice farmers. Mr. Quang Van La, a farmer in Noong Het commune, Dien Bien district, shared: “This year, my family planted nearly 5,000m2 ^of fragrant and fragrant rice varieties, with a yield of about 5.5 tons/ha. Due to the impact of floods and rains, productivity and output were affected, but in return, rice prices increased to the highest level in many recent years. I just hope that the price of rice will remain high, so that rice farmers can have a better life.”

According to the assessment of the professional agency, the price of rice in the province has increased recently due to the sharp decrease in the national supply. Especially after the recent flood, many areas of winter-spring rice in the North were severely damaged, affecting the price of rice in the country in general and Dien Bien province in particular.

In Dien Bien, floods have caused hundreds of hectares of rice in the flowering and ripening stages to collapse and be damaged; dozens of hectares were completely lost and could not be restored. Therefore, productivity and output decreased compared to the previous year's crop. Specifically, the 2024 rice cultivation area reached 21,298 hectares, with a yield of only over 54 quintals/ha (the 2023 crop yield reached nearly 60 quintals/ha).

Many rice fields in Dien Bien district were damaged by floods and rains, reducing productivity and causing rice prices to increase.

Dien Bien district is the province's rice granary with a total winter-spring crop area of ​​over 5,400 hectares, mainly in the basin (over 4,000 hectares). However, floods have damaged over 70% of over 135 hectares of rice and caused total loss. The impact of storm No. 3 alone has damaged nearly 360 hectares of winter-spring rice by 30-70%.

Along with that, the rice flowering stage encountered a lot of rain, creating conditions for widespread outbreaks of pests and diseases, such as brown spot, leaf blight, leaf blast, neck blast, etc., which also affected the overall productivity and output of the whole district. Therefore, this year's rice yield in Dien Bien district is estimated at 60 quintals/ha, with an expected output of 32,686 tons, 640 tons lower than the plan. This has partly affected the price of rice in the province.

If rice farmers are happy and make a profit after the harvest, the increase in rice prices has directly affected poor households, disadvantaged families, and workers.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngan, Muong Thanh Ward, Dien Bien Phu City shared: “My family has 3 people, consuming about 10kg of rice per month. Previously, my family often used fragrant rice with a price fluctuating around 17,000 VND/kg, but for more than a month now, the price of fragrant rice has increased, affecting the cost of living. To overcome this, I bought rice to mill, the price is cheaper.”

Consumers look at rice prices at Hoa Ba Supermarket.

For large rice consumers, collective kitchens, restaurants, eateries... the impact of increasing rice prices is quite clear.

Mr. Nguyen Van Tien, owner of a restaurant in Dien Bien Phu City, said: “My restaurant often uses fragrant jasmine rice to cook rice. A few months ago, the price of rice was stable at 16,000 - 18,000 VND/kg, but recently it has increased to more than 20,000 VND/kg. The price of rice has increased, but the price of rice servings remains the same. If the price increases, customers will have opinions and may not even come back. Therefore, we still have to maintain it. If the price of rice increases too much in the future, we will have to recalculate accordingly.”

Currently, rice trading in the province is mainly concentrated in supermarkets, some businesses and retail stores. Thanks to proactive supply, the increase in rice prices does not seriously affect trading and business.

In order to stabilize rice prices and ensure market supply, the authorities are coordinating with localities to closely monitor rice prices; strengthen inspection and control of business establishments, wholesale and retail outlets, markets and supermarkets. Control supply sources and prices, prevent violations in price listing, speculation, hoarding, and unreasonable pricing of rice. At the same time, step up supervision of production, circulation, and consumption of rice to promptly prevent the transportation and trading of rice of unknown origin.

Source: https://baodienbienphu.com.vn/tin-tuc/kinh-te/219002/lu%CC%81a-ga%CC%A3o-tang-gia%CC%81---nguo%CC%80i-mu%CC%80ng-nguo%CC%80i-lo