Farmers face many disadvantages in the summer-autumn rice crop.

Recently, rice farmers in Can Tho City have faced many difficulties due to unfavorable production conditions, along with rising fertilizer prices and other input costs. Now that the rice is ripe and ready for harvest, farmers continue to face challenges due to frequent rain, while rice prices have fallen.

Harvesting the 2025 summer-autumn rice crop in Thoi Lai district.

Many unfavorable factors

During the summer-autumn crop season, unfavorable production conditions are prevalent due to frequent hot weather with high temperatures and a lack of alluvial soil enrichment, making it difficult to achieve high rice yields. Meanwhile, production costs increase as farmers incur additional expenses for care, irrigation, and increased fertilizer use compared to the winter-spring season. The 2025 summer-autumn rice production season shows that farmers have focused on increasing the application of mechanization and scientific and technological advancements to reduce production costs and improve product quality and selling prices. However, due to the rising and persistently high prices of fertilizers and other input costs such as fuel, electricity, labor, and machinery rentals, rice production costs have increased significantly compared to previous seasons.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phi, who cultivates over 2 hectares of rice in Thanh Phu commune, Co Do district, said: "This summer-autumn crop, production costs have increased by at least 300,000-500,000 VND per hectare compared to the winter-spring crop due to the high prices of many types of fertilizers and the drought at the beginning of the season, forcing farmers to spend money on irrigation and weed control. Last winter-spring crop, rice yield reached over 1 ton of fresh rice per hectare, but this season I predict the yield will only reach around 700 kg per hectare. Farmers are hoping for high prices for their summer rice crop to ensure good profits. However, recently, rice prices have been trending downwards, causing farmers to worry, especially those whose rice is about to be harvested but who do not yet have guaranteed purchase contracts with businesses and traders." Currently, many farmers who have received deposits to "fix the price" for selling their rice to traders are quite worried about not being harvested and sold in time because traders are slow to come to buy and are demanding lower prices. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, residing in Thoi Phong A hamlet, Thoi Lai town, Thoi Lai district, said: "At this time, many summer-autumn rice crops of 2025 in the district have entered the harvest season. However, rice prices have unexpectedly tended to decrease as the harvest season begins. Many traders, even though they had previously placed deposits to buy fresh OM 5451 rice at 6,000-6,200 VND/kg, are now demanding a price reduction of 100 VND/kg when they see the market price drop; if not, they will not buy." According to Mr. Phong, his 11 acres of rice paddies were sown with OM 5451 rice variety, and about three weeks ago he received a deposit of 300,000 VND per acre for the fresh rice to be sold to traders at 6,000 VND/kg. However, by June 4th, the rice was 2-3 days past its harvest date (98 days old), but the traders had not yet sent combine harvesters to collect it. To avoid the rice ripening and losing yield and quality if left in the field for too long, he had to call and urge the traders to come and buy it, accepting a price reduction of 100 VND/kg, down to 5,900 VND/kg.

Farmers seek ways to minimize risks.

For the 2025 summer-autumn crop season, farmers in Can Tho City planted over 70,764 hectares of rice, reaching 100.8% of the plan. To ensure timely harvesting and consumption of rice amidst falling rice prices, farmers in many districts and communes have been actively strengthening linkages, connections, and contact with combine harvester owners, businesses, and traders. They are researching and understanding rice prices to promptly negotiate and agree on selling prices, while proactively implementing solutions to ensure mechanized rice harvesting. Specifically, they are applying appropriate care and fertilization methods to minimize lodging and proactively draining water from rice fields to keep them dry and less waterlogged, facilitating the operation of mechanized harvesting machinery. Many farmers also accept losses, willing to lower the selling price of rice slightly to share the difficulties with traders in order to have long-term cooperation, thereby also promoting timely harvesting and consumption of rice, avoiding ripe rice being left in the fields for too long during the rainy season, which is easily damaged.

In the 2025 summer-autumn crop season, Mr. Nguyen Van Mai in Thoi Binh B hamlet, Thoi Thanh commune, Thoi Lai district, cultivated 16 acres of rice, including 9 acres sown with OM 5451 variety and 7 acres sown with OM 18 variety. Mr. Mai said: "Thanks to proactively draining the water from the rice fields quite early, I was able to harvest all the rice quite smoothly using a combine harvester. This season's rice crop suffered less lodging, so the cost of renting the machine was the same as previous seasons, at 320,000 VND/acre, and the rice was bought by traders on the same day after harvesting." According to Mr. Mai, he sold his rice at 6,200 VND/kg for OM 5451 variety and 6,600 VND/kg for OM 18 variety. However, as harvest time approached, market prices dropped sharply by 300-500 VND/kg compared to before. Traders complained about difficulties and asked for a price reduction of 100 VND/kg, which he accepted to share their burden and also to ensure the rice could be harvested on time. Even so, he still made an average profit of about 2 million VND per hectare of rice. According to Mr. Huynh Thanh Binh in Thoi Thuan B hamlet, Thoi Lai town, Thoi Lai district, this season he has 3 hectares of rice sown with OM 5451 variety and he received a deposit from traders at 6,200 VND/kg. However, by harvest time, he had lowered the price to 6,100 VND/kg, but because the rice crop this season did not yield much, only about 600 kg/acre, he could only make a profit of 1 million VND/acre.

The drop in rice prices and the unpredictable weather patterns, including frequent rain, have somewhat hampered rice harvesting. However, generally speaking, most summer-autumn rice crops are harvested by machine, saving considerable time and costs. The rice is purchased fresh by traders and businesses immediately after harvest.

Text and photos: KHANH TRUNG

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/nong-dan-gap-nhieu-bat-loi-trong-vu-lua-he-thu-a187345.html