Jackfruit in the West has fallen dramatically in price, despite a huge discount of 1,000 VND/kg, it still doesn't sell well.

Jackfruit prices in the West have hit rock bottom, down to only 1,000 VND/kg, but traders are still buying, causing many gardeners to be unable to sell their jackfruit, at risk of heavy losses.

Jackfruit prices hit record low

In early June 2025, many jackfruit growers in the Mekong Delta region fell into an unprecedented misery. The price of Thai jackfruit dropped to almost rock bottom, only from 1,000 - 3,000 VND/kg, the lowest in nearly a decade. Although accepting to sell at a loss, many gardeners still could not find an outlet, ripe jackfruit fell all over the garden, people helplessly watched the year's results fall into the river. The scene of "jackfruit full of gardens with no one to buy" is happening in jackfruit-growing districts of Tien Giang, Ben Tre , Vinh Long, Hau Giang...

Thai jackfruit prices continue to fall, only 1,000 - 3,000 VND/kg. Illustrative photo

Recorded in My Loi B commune, Cai Be district, Tien Giang province, one of the places with the largest Thai jackfruit plantations in the Western region, one can clearly see the gloomy atmosphere covering many fruit gardens. Ripe jackfruits hang all over the roots, not being harvested in time, many fruits are too old to fall to the ground, cracking the skin. Some farming households are forced to harvest and bring them to the retail market for only 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg, not enough to cover labor and transportation costs.

Mr. Le Dinh Dai, a long-time jackfruit gardener in Phu Nhuan commune (Cai Lay district, Tien Giang province), shared: “My garden has about 400 Thai jackfruit trees, which are in the main harvest season. Last year, traders paid 10,000 - 15,000 VND/kg, although the income was not high, it was enough to survive. This year, it is miserable. The best jackfruit is now only 3,000 VND/kg, medium and small jackfruit are 1,000 - 2,000 VND, many fruits are not bought. We invest in fertilizer, medicine, and care all year round, not to mention the cost of hiring workers to harvest, now the sales are not enough to pay for gas.”

Not only Mr. Dai, many other gardeners are in the same situation. Some households said they accept selling at a loss but still have no buyers. Traders have stopped buying because they cannot export their products. Meanwhile, ripe jackfruit must be picked and discarded, if left for too long it will spoil and lose its value. With this situation, many farmers said they may abandon the crop because the more they work, the more they lose, not to mention the risk of bank debt or losing capital for the next crop.

Mr. Ho Van Sang, an old farmer who has grown jackfruit for more than 15 years in My Loi B commune, said that his family's jackfruit garden of more than 100 trees is currently harvesting about 300 kg per week. However, due to the low price, traders have given up, so he has to sell it at a small market for 1,000 VND/kg. "I used to sell jackfruit for 20,000 VND/kg last year, and made a decent profit. But now, even if I sell it for 1,000 VND, people still say the fruit is bad and no one buys it. My wife and I cut it ourselves, transport it to sell, and make every penny we earn. There are days when we sell all day and make more than a hundred thousand, not enough to pay for gas. If we don't cut it, the fruit will fall and rats will eat it, wasting all our efforts for the year."

Not only gardeners, but also traders are struggling because of the plummeting jackfruit prices. Many people have even stopped purchasing because the costs of transportation, preservation and resale cannot recover their capital. According to Mr. Le Van Truong, the owner of a jackfruit purchasing warehouse in My Loi B commune, Cai Be district, in recent days, his warehouse has been buying Thai jackfruit at prices ranging from only 1,000 - 3,000 VND/kg. Specifically, beautiful jackfruit weighing 9 kg or more costs 3,000 VND/kg; 7 - 9 kg is 2,000 VND/kg; and under 7 kg is only 1,000 VND/kg. Although the price has dropped to a very low level, the consumption situation is still extremely difficult.

“Some unsold jackfruits have to be brought back to get the segments and resold to jackfruit drying facilities. But this method only solves a very small part of the problem. Most of the fruit still has to be left in the garden. Not only Thai jackfruit, red-fleshed jackfruit is also now falling sharply, only 12,000 - 13,000 VND/kg, while at its peak the price was up to 120,000 VND/kg. I have been doing this job for 8 years, and I have never seen jackfruit prices hit rock bottom like now,” said Mr. Truong.

According to Mr. Truong, the main reason for the sharp drop in jackfruit prices is that the export market, especially China, is restricting imports. “The market there is now very tight, requiring a code for the growing area, a code for the packaging facility that meets standards, and the fruit must be large, beautiful, and unbruised. They reject fruit that does not meet standards. Meanwhile, the floating goods cannot be exported, and the domestic market cannot be consumed due to the large quantity,” Mr. Truong added.

Need to re-plan the growing area

Statistics from the agricultural sector show that the entire Mekong Delta currently has over 30,000 hectares of Thai jackfruit, of which Tien Giang province alone accounts for over 15,800 hectares with an estimated output of about 330,000 tons/year. With the current price, jackfruit growers not only do not make a profit but also risk losing everything if the situation persists. The average investment cost for each kilogram of jackfruit from planting to harvesting ranges from about 8,000 - 10,000 VND, including fertilizer, pesticides, irrigation water, care and harvesting labor. Thus, a selling price below 5,000 VND/kg is a total loss.

Jackfruit farmers are suffering losses. Photo: Nhat Truong

Meanwhile, support policies for jackfruit growers have not been effective. The consumption of domestic agricultural products through supermarket systems, e-commerce platforms or deep processing is still not synchronized, lacking cold storage systems and logistics support. Many jackfruit drying facilities are also operating at a standstill due to lack of capital and post-harvest preservation technology that does not meet requirements.

Some experts believe that the sharp drop in jackfruit prices is a warning bell about agricultural development following trends, lacking regional linkages and not controlling supply and demand. It is time for localities to review fruit tree planning, encourage farmers to grow according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards to improve quality and reduce dependence on a single market. At the same time, it is necessary to build a chain of links from cultivation, purchasing to processing and consumption to proactively respond to market fluctuations.

In the immediate future, many gardeners hope that localities will have policies to support temporary purchases and storage, connect with consumers or expand output through domestic channels and e-commerce. However, most can only wait in vain. When each jackfruit is now only 1,000 VND and still unsold, the question of what to grow and who to sell to has become a big question for farmers in the West.

Ngan Nga

Source: https://congthuong.vn/mit-mien-tay-rot-gia-the-tham-dai-ha-gia-1000-dongkg-van-e-391643.html