Tien Giang: Vegetable prices fall

After the 2024 Lunar New Year, many farmers in the eastern districts of Tien Giang province were restless as vegetable prices fell across the board. Vegetable prices hit rock bottom, and even became unsaleable, causing many vegetable growers to suffer losses.

According to records, before the Lunar New Year 2024, all kinds of vegetables have fallen in price and remained low until now. At this time, Ms. Quach Thi Ngoc Lam (Long Binh Hamlet, Yen Luong Commune, Go Cong Tay District) and some people in the village are pulling out Chinese cabbage to donate to charity. According to Ms. Lam, her family's 3 hectares of Chinese cabbage this season is estimated to yield about 13 tons.

However, in recent days, the price of Chinese cabbage has only fluctuated at 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg, and traders are not buying.

“The price of vegetables has dropped in general, and the price of Chinese cabbage has been low for the past month. The cost of this crop is about 20 million VND, and if the cabbage cannot be sold, my family has lost all the money spent on growing the cabbage. When vegetable prices are low, farmers also suffer, but this time my family suffered a heavy loss due to sowing too much. Thanks to some people who came to cut the cabbage for charity, I didn’t have to hire workers to clear the cabbage field, otherwise I would have had to spend more money,” said Ms. Lam.

Not far from Ms. Lam's vegetable field, Mr. Chau Hoang Quan (Long Binh Hamlet, Yen Luong Commune) is also harvesting the sweet cabbage crop. According to Mr. Chau, the current supply of vegetables is not too much, but due to low consumption, the price is very cheap. This season, Mr. Chau's family sows sweet cabbage and water spinach on 3 hectares of land. Sweet cabbage is sold for 1,500 VND/kg, and water spinach is sold for 3,000 VND/kg.

With the current price of Chinese cabbage, his family is sure to lose money; only water spinach is breaking even. “The price of vegetables and cabbage has dropped, which is a common situation. Traders are not buying much, so growers have to uproot them or give them to charity. Some traders say that due to poor sales, they have reduced their vegetable purchases. This year, the water source for irrigation is guaranteed, but fertilizers and pesticides are increasing, while vegetable prices have dropped so much that farmers are losing a lot,” said Mr. Quan.

People come to Ms. Lam's field to pull up Chinese cabbage to donate to charity.

In Long Binh commune, Go Cong Tay district, Nguyen Van Hai's family is also harvesting water spinach. According to Hai, water spinach is purchased by traders at 4,000 VND/kg. Due to the low price, the profit is very small, mainly taking labor as profit. According to Hai, this year, after Tet, all kinds of vegetables are cheap, farmers have to suffer losses.

According to records, the prices of all vegetables are currently low. Specifically, the price of green onions is 6,000 - 8,000 VND/kg, green mustard is 1,500 - 2,000 VND/kg, Malabar spinach is 2,500 VND/kg, white radish is 2,000 VND/kg... Mr. Nguyen Thanh Quang, Director of Hoa Thanh General Agricultural Cooperative (Binh Tan Commune, Go Cong Tay District) said that currently all vegetables are sold at cheap prices.

Because it is a favorable crop season, vegetables have high yields and abundant supply, but slow consumption has led to a sharp drop in prices. Many farmers have to sell at very low prices, some have to uproot their crops to replant a new crop. As for the members of the cooperative, because they are guaranteed to buy vegetables at a price of 4,500 VND/kg, output and profit are guaranteed. "Currently, vegetable prices are very low, so the cooperative is struggling to support its members," Mr. Quang shared.

Go Cong Dong district is also a locality with strengths in vegetable cultivation. Currently, vegetable farmers in the district are also facing difficulties due to sharp price drops. According to records, many types of vegetables in the district are currently at rock bottom prices. Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa (Tan Dien commune, Go Cong Dong district) said that his family has just harvested more than 1 ton of green onions, selling them for 6,000 VND/kg. Compared to other types of vegetables, the cost of growing onions is higher due to the labor involved in caring for and harvesting. "Before Tet, the price of green onions has dropped sharply. With the current price of green onions, after harvesting, my family will lose more than 1 million VND," said Mr. Hoa.

In fact, the current situation of deep price reduction of vegetables is common. The reason is also due to favorable weather, abundant supply of vegetables, while slow consumption leads to price reduction. Many farmers who produce vegetables in the traditional way, without linking to consumption, have to suffer losses due to low prices, or even cannot sell.

T. DAT

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