The sad orange incident

As a fruit primarily consumed domestically, its market is unstable, so fundamental solutions are urgently needed to ensure stable sales for mandarin orange growers during each harvest season.

Mandarin oranges are sold at the Vi Thanh rural market for about 4,000 VND/kg.

So cheap… it's practically free.

Arriving at Vi Thanh market early in the morning to buy food for her family and get to her morning shift on time, Ms. Ut Lien, from Ward III, pointed to a large bag of oranges, about ten kilograms, on her motorbike and said: "This morning, I saw that oranges were so cheap, so I bought some to make juice for the kids to get vitamins. I bought ten kilograms for only 40,000 dong. I was eager to buy them because they were cheap, but I feel sorry for the farmers who grow them and sell them at that price."

Not far away, busy handing bags of oranges to customers and inviting them to buy, Mr. Le Thanh Phong, a trader who buys and sells oranges, said that he brought hundreds of kilograms of oranges to Vi Thanh market to sell and earn some capital. Watching the pile of oranges dwindle, this trader wasn't very happy.

“Oranges are 3,000-4,000 VND/kg. In the orchard, they're only 1,000 VND/kg, and those are the best ones. Beautiful oranges in bulk, picked directly from the tree for 1,000 VND per kg, carried to the truck – no ranking or anything, just one price, no labor costs included. Farmers now let you into their orchards to pick and buy freely, then cut them down and throw them away. It's too cheap, they're losing money,” Phong said.

That's the sentiment of both buyers and traders, but for the farmers cultivating oranges, the sadness is clearly visible. A farmer with a 1-hectare plot of six-year-old mandarin orange trees expects to supply around 20 tons of fruit to the market between now and the Lunar New Year. However, with the current prices and costs, Mr. Truong Minh Khanh, from Phuong Phu commune, Phung Hiep district, has been deeply saddened for the past few days.

“The traders are only offering 2,000 VND/kg, so I haven’t decided to sell yet. This orange orchard is ripening slowly; by Tet, I’ll probably have about 20 tons, but the price is too low. I see a lot of ripe fruit already, so I’ll just ask the traders to sell them in a few days. I invested about 60 million VND here, and with these prices, I’ll lose money. I think I’ll switch to a different crop next year,” Mr. Khanh said.

As for Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, in Hiep Hung commune, Phung Hiep district, he owns over 30 acres of land, with over 60% planted with mandarin oranges. However, he has intercropped about 300 durian trees on this land to generate short-term income while waiting for the next harvest. Mr. Cong shared: "Mandarin orange trees aren't very appealing anymore. Farmers are suffering losses because they are dependent on the market. Many orchards are cutting down mandarin orange trees; some are planting lemons, others are using the land to grow sugarcane, and some are using it to grow papayas – all sorts of things."

Transformation according to plan

It can be seen that in recent years, the movement to cultivate mandarin oranges has spread widely in many places in the Mekong Delta. This is because many people believe that this is a crop that only needs to be planted for a few years to bear fruit, providing high immediate income, especially during the off-season. However, remember that at the beginning of this year, many people were shocked when mandarin orange prices suddenly plummeted to around 2,000-5,000 VND/kg, requiring rescue efforts.

Although Hau Giang province hasn't experienced the same rapid development of orange cultivation as some other localities, people in Phung Hiep district and Nga Bay city have also chosen this crop to develop their economy in recent times. Experts believe the recent drop in the price of mandarin oranges stems from oversupply. This fruit is mainly consumed in the domestic market, and farmers still cultivate it using traditional methods, resulting in oranges that don't have a long shelf life. Furthermore, some diseases have also affected the quality of the trees and the fruit.

Mr. Tran Van Tuan, Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Phung Hiep District, said: "In the locality, mandarin oranges are mainly grown in Long Thanh, Tan Long, and Thanh Hoa communes, covering several thousand hectares. The area of mandarin oranges has decreased significantly, with farmers switching to jackfruit, durian, and other crops. This is because mandarin oranges are often affected by yellow leaf disease and root rot. The district also has a plan to plant mandarin oranges to diversify the ecosystem and crops, but the area is not large," Mr. Tuan added.

Whether it's mandarin oranges or any other crop, research for sustainable development is always essential. Sustainable orange cultivation requires long-term solutions. Farmers need to stay informed about market trends, cultivate according to plans and recommendations from local authorities, and avoid uncontrolled expansion to prevent oversupply, market glut, and price instability.

Text and photos: MONG TOAN

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