Farmers are "sitting on hot coals" when corn prices fall

08:20, September 18, 2023

For many years, corn has been considered one of the main crops of many households. Currently, localities in the province are harvesting summer-autumn corn, with higher productivity and output than previous years. However, the joy is not complete because corn prices are low.

Corn prices continue to fall

Right from the beginning of the season, corn was purchased by traders at 8,000 VND/kg of dried corn and 6,000 VND/kg of fresh corn. However, up to now, corn prices in localities in the province have dropped to a fairly low level, with an average of 1 kg of fresh corn fluctuating at only 3,000 - 3,500 VND/kg (about 1,700 VND/kg lower than the same period last year); the price of dried corn is in the range of 5,000 - 6,000 VND/kg (about 2,000 VND/kg lower than last year).

Farmers in Cu M'gar district bag and sell fresh corn.

Mr. Ngoc Van Duong's family (Ea Wer commune, Buon Don district) is one of the households with a large corn growing area in the locality. This summer-autumn crop, his family planted 1 hectare of hybrid corn, harvesting about 12 tons of fresh corn. With the current selling price, after deducting investment costs, his family only earned about 3 million VND, not including the cost of planting and care. Mr. Duong shared that this year's corn harvest coincided with a period of heavy rain, so if the corn is not harvested quickly, it will be attacked by insects, causing fungus, and the corn kernels will easily germinate, affecting the quality and price. Therefore, the family had to accept selling at a lower price than initially expected.

Similarly, Ms. Le Thi Diep's family (Km 47, Krong Pac district) is also facing difficulties when corn prices are low. With an area of 5 sao, mainly growing NK7328 corn, her family has almost finished harvesting but has not decided to sell but leave it to dry because the purchase price is too low, not ensuring investment costs. "The weather is very erratic, my family does not have a dryer, I am afraid that if the corn is not dried in the sun enough, it will become moldy, poor quality, traders will not buy or force the price very low. However, with the current corn price, if we sell, the family will not be able to cover the loss. But if we leave a few tons of corn in the house, it will be "bait" for rats to eat and cause trouble. I plan to switch to other more suitable short-term crops next year such as green beans, soybeans, peanuts... to improve my life," Ms. Diep worried.

People of Cu M'gar commune, Cu M'gar district transport fresh corn to sell to traders.

Meanwhile, in recent days, Mrs. H'Mok Eban (Kna A hamlet, Cu M'gar commune, Cu M'gar district) has been restless as her family's 2.5 hectares of corn are aging and drying up. This is also the common situation of people in the hamlet when the corn is ready to be harvested, but very few traders come to buy or ask to buy at very cheap prices. "This year's crop, most farmers had a good harvest, everyone was happy. However, when it comes to harvest, people are in a difficult and miserable situation because of corn. With the current price, the more a family plants, the more they lose," Mrs. H'Mok lamented.

Output is difficult

This summer-autumn crop, the whole province has more than 50,000 hectares of corn and localities are harvesting about 20,000 hectares. Most farmers grow many types of corn with high yield, and at the same time focus on care. Therefore, the yield and quality of corn have increased but the selling price is low, causing growers to have almost no profit, even losing capital when the investment cost is large.

One of the reasons why corn prices in the province are always unstable and low is because the output is still completely dependent on traders, there is no connection or product consumption. Most farmers are in difficulty, have to pay in advance for seeds, agricultural materials... from traders and after harvesting, people have to sell back to traders, so there is still a situation of price suppression.

In addition, African swine fever is currently breaking out in some localities, so many animal and poultry feed production and processing facilities cannot sell their products, leading to a decrease in the use of corn as animal feed.

According to Ms. Ho Thi Nham, representative of Son Ha Vina Trading Company Limited (Cu M'gar district), this year the amount of imported corn from abroad is higher than in previous years, and at the same time, people are massively expanding their planting areas, leading to a situation where supply exceeds demand. Every day, the company buys about 20 tons of corn kernels, at a price of 5,800 VND/kg of dry corn, while the price of fresh corn fluctuates between 3,300 - 3,500 VND/kg, depending on the quality of the product. "In addition to purchasing and supporting people in consuming agricultural products, we also cooperate with a number of units to collect corn stalks, leaves, and corn kernels to grind and compost them as feed for dairy cows. Since the beginning of the season, we have helped people consume more than 2,000 tons of plants, this is one of the ways to help farmers have an earlier source of income and have land to plant the new crop faster than other localities," Ms. Nham said.

Thuy Nga – Ngoc Thuy

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