Harvesting the early summer-autumn rice crop: The joy is not yet complete.

Báo Hậu Giang•26/06/2023

In recent days, farmers in many fields throughout the province have been busy harvesting the early summer-autumn rice crop, but their joy is not complete because the yield is not as high as expected.

Early summer-autumn rice yields in the province did not meet farmers' expectations.

Rice yield has decreased.

According to the provincial agricultural sector, this year's summer-autumn rice crop saw farmers in the province planting over 75,207 hectares, exceeding the plan by more than 700 hectares. At this time, farmers in the province have harvested over 4,000 hectares, mainly in Chau Thanh A, Long My, Phung Hiep, Vi Thuy districts and Vi Thanh city. Observations at many fields where early summer-autumn rice is being harvested in the province reveal a less than enthusiastic atmosphere, as farmers' expectations have not been fully met.

While watching the harvesting machine cut down his family's 1.4-hectare summer-autumn rice crop (OM 5451 variety), Mr. Tran Van Minh, from Hamlet 3, Vinh Thuan Tay Commune, Vi Thuy District, said: “The rice fields of our neighbors near the border, which have just been harvested and weighed for traders, have yields ranging from only 600-700 kg/acre (one acre is 1,300 m2), and my family's rice is also in this range. With the current yield, it's down 100-150 kg/acre compared to the same period last year.”

According to Mr. Minh and many farmers in the rice fields here, the yield of the early summer-autumn rice crop this year has decreased due to several reasons. Firstly, the prolonged intense heat has slowed rice plant growth, especially in higher-lying fields where water retention is difficult, leading to the proliferation of weeds and wild rice (two-tiered rice, wild rice), significantly reducing the yield of the main crop. Secondly, many rice fields experienced heavy rains during the flowering period, resulting in many shriveled and empty grains, further reducing yield.

Sharing her sorrow over the failed rice crop, Ms. Nguyen Hong Tham, residing in Hamlet 2, Vinh Thuan Dong Commune, Long My District, said: “Because the land is on high ground, weeds and wild rice have grown quite a lot. Before harvesting, my family had to hire laborers for many days to cut the weeds from our 6 acres of rice fields. Therefore, the yield of the summer-autumn rice crop this season, which my family just sold to traders, only reached nearly 500kg/acre, a decrease of more than 200kg/acre compared to the same period last year. Currently, not only my family's rice fields but many other farmers in this area are facing a similar situation.”

To somewhat compensate for the disappointment regarding low yields, rice prices are currently stable at a relatively high level. Specifically, traders are currently buying fresh rice directly from the fields for several key varieties such as OM 18, Dai Thom 8, OM 5451… at prices ranging from 6,200 to 6,400 VND/kg (depending on the variety). This price is not significantly different from the previous summer-autumn crop.

“While farmers enjoyed a bumper crop and good prices during the recent winter-spring rice season, this summer-autumn season brings unfulfilled hopes due to low yields. With the current selling prices and yields, after deducting investment costs, rice growers achieving a yield of over 600 kg/hectare will only earn a profit of less than 20 million VND/hectare. For those with even lower yields, profits will gradually decrease, and they may even break even,” added Mr. Tran Van Minh, from Hamlet 3, Vinh Thuan Tay Commune, Vi Thuy District.

Stable consumer market

According to analyses by several rice exporting businesses, the current price of Vietnamese rice is high compared to other rice exporting countries due to many previously signed contracts and the depletion of rice supplies from the winter-spring crop. Therefore, exporters are forced to increase their purchases at higher prices to fulfill these contracts, while the supply from this year's summer-autumn crop is low as farmers in some provinces of the Mekong Delta are just beginning their harvest. Furthermore, rice yields in the summer-autumn crop, both currently being harvested and those about to be harvested, are predicted to be low due to various weather and farming conditions, as assessed by farmers.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the export market for rice has stabilized and remained unchanged as of June 23rd. Specifically, Vietnamese 5% broken rice is being offered at US$503/ton; 25% broken rice at US$483/ton; and Jasmine rice at US$578/ton. Businesses say these are high prices, and Vietnam continues to benefit from exports due to high demand from many importing countries. Particularly in the ASEAN market, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade , Indonesia alone imported nearly 400,000 tons of Vietnamese rice in the first five months of this year, a 15-fold increase compared to the same period last year.

According to experts, Indonesia's increased rice imports are due to the prolonged drought caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Not only Indonesia, but also other Southeast Asian countries and many other nations around the world will continue to increase their imports of Vietnamese rice in the coming period. However, to export, businesses need to meet the quality and packaging requirements of their exporting countries.

Mr. Ngo Minh Long, Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hau Giang province, said: "With the determination of the entire sector, the area of summer-autumn rice in the province this year has exceeded the target set in the plan; this has created a significant impetus for the entire sector in supporting people to implement many effective rice cultivation measures, especially in improving the yield of rice crops in the later stages. In particular, the positive signals regarding the rice market currently will also create great motivation for farmers in the province to pay more attention to caring for their family's rice fields in order to achieve the highest possible yield when entering the harvest season."

Text and photos: Huu Phuoc

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