Australian mangoes… awaiting rescue.

The unprecedented drop in Australian mango prices has devastated many orchards in Cam Lam. Not only are investment costs high and yields low, but mangoes are also piling up, hanging on the trees, and falling to the ground, resulting in further losses.

Prices plummeted dramatically.

In the scorching midday sun, Mr. Duong Duoc (Tan Lap village, Cam Thanh Bac commune) quietly harvested mangoes in his orchard. Sweating profusely, he carefully selected each large, evenly sized Australian mango, weighing approximately 1kg. These visually appealing fruits, however, only fetched a meager 200,000 VND from the two baskets weighing nearly 100kg that he carried to the wholesale market. “I’ve only managed to harvest this much since this morning; whatever I can sell is better than leaving them hanging on the trees and ruining the roots,” he said. Mr. Duoc’s orchard has 105 Australian mango trees, and he invested nearly 20 million VND in tending them throughout the season, but this harvest yielded only about 1 ton of fruit, only one-third of last year’s yield. Most of it was the low-quality, unattractive mangoes, which the wholesale market only bought for 2,500 VND/kg.

Ms. Pham Thi No buys Australian mangoes.

At the Thong No mango wholesale market in Cam Thanh Bac commune, owner Pham Thi No sighed: “Grade 1 Australian mangoes are priced at 20,000 VND/kg, grade 2 at 6,000-7,000 VND, and beer mangoes at only 2,000-3,000 VND/kg. Grade 1 mangoes are extremely rare this year; it's hard to find them, only about 10%.” According to Ms. No, not only are farmers struggling, but traders are also facing difficulties. Wholesale markets that had placed deposits to buy orchards are now overwhelmed with unsold stock, suffering heavy losses. The Thong No wholesale market, which used to buy 4-10 tons daily, now only dares to buy about 1 ton per day because the market is almost completely blocked.

Australian mangoes plummet in price, causing heavy losses for farmers in Cam Lam.

Transporting mangoes to sell, Mr. Ngo Dinh Phu (Tan Thanh village, Cam Thanh Bac commune) shared that his family owns nearly 1 hectare of mango trees, half of which are Australian mangoes and the other half are Hoa Loc mangoes. Every year they harvest 8 tons of Australian mangoes, but this year they only get about 5 tons. This year, the mango trees bloomed during rainy seasons, forcing many farmers to induce flowering 2-3 times. When the fruit set, they were then attacked by pests. Selling all the mangoes will probably only cover the cost of fertilizer and pesticides. Even so, he is still lucky, as many households have lost all their hard work and investment.

Why have mango prices dropped?

According to the Cam Lam District Department of Agriculture and Environment, the district currently has approximately 4,500 hectares of Australian mangoes, with an annual production of about 20,000-30,000 tons. Of this, 210 hectares meet VietGAP standards and have been granted planting area codes for export to markets such as China, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The majority of Australian mangoes are exported fresh to China, with a small amount consumed domestically and used as raw material for dried mangoes and mango juice.

In recent years, China's domestic mango production has increased, leading to a significant decrease in demand for imports from Vietnam. Furthermore, the peak season for Cam Lam Australian mangoes coincides with the mango harvest season in China and Cambodia, intensifying competition. As a result, Cam Lam mango exports have plummeted.

Mr. Duong Duoc has never seen mango prices as low as this year.

According to some mango purchasing centers, previously, large, beautiful mangoes were collected by Chinese traders. Now, in addition to being large and beautiful, they must also be absolutely free of scratches and black spots to meet export standards. This strict requirement has resulted in almost all of Cam Lam's Australian mangoes this year failing to meet the criteria and having to be sold domestically.

This year's weather is also a major obstacle. According to farmer Ngo Dinh Phu, this year's unfavorable weather, with erratic sunshine and rain, has doubled the cost of treating flowers, setting fruit, and using fertilizers and pesticides. On average, each hectare of mangoes requires at least 40 million VND in investment, while the revenue from selling the mangoes is not guaranteed to be 20 million VND.

Australian mangoes were introduced to Cam Lam in 2015 and quickly expanded in cultivation area due to high prices ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 VND/kg, and even reaching 70,000 VND/kg in some years. Over time, many farmers have boldly invested in and applied science and technology in mango cultivation and harvesting. The district has built a brand and supported the processing of products such as dried mangoes, enzymes, cakes, and mango jam. Australian mangoes and related products have become the district's key OCOP (One Commune One Product) products. However, over-reliance on a single export market means that consumption always faces uncertainty.

Finding a way to overcome difficulties

“Having spent my whole life cultivating mangoes, I’ve never seen a year as disastrous as this. I’m selling them to recoup some of the fertilizer costs because I don’t want to waste my efforts; nobody thinks about profit. I sent mangoes to relatives in Binh Dinh, but the shipping cost was three times the price of the mangoes,” Mr. Duoc said bitterly. In Cam Hoa commune, which has a large area of ​​Australian mangoes in the district, Mr. Vo Viet Tri – Head of the Farmers’ Association in Lap Dinh 2 village, said that last year, mangoes were bought in bulk for 10,000 VND/kg, but this year they are only 2,000-3,000 VND/kg and still nobody is buying them. In Lap Dinh 2 village alone, there are still about 200 tons of Australian mangoes hanging on the trees, unsold. Many purchasing centers are “stuck” because the production is too large and the market can’t absorb it all.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tri Dung, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Cam Hoa commune, the entire commune has about 1,000 hectares of mangoes, of which 800 hectares are Australian mangoes. Due to the extremely low prices, farmers are forced to leave their orchards unsold, and currently more than 500 tons of mangoes remain unsold. The commune's Farmers' Association has reported the situation to the district to find solutions to support its members and farmers in selling their mangoes.

A basket of mangoes weighing over 50kg only sells for about 100,000 VND.

Mr. Le Thanh Van, Chairman of the Cam Lam District Farmers' Association, reported that the entire district still has about 1,800 tons of Australian mangoes unsold. The purchase price at the farm is only 3,000-4,000 VND/kg, much lower than the investment costs. Meanwhile, the mangoes are past their prime and will spoil if not harvested in time. Transportation and labor costs are high, causing farmers to incur even more losses. Wholesalers are also buying in small quantities due to the lack of demand. Farmers and members in the communes and towns hope to receive support in purchasing the mangoes at a proposed price of 8,000-10,000 VND/kg to recover their production investment. Given this situation, the District Farmers' Association has proposed that the District People's Committee support the sale of mangoes for farmers. On May 7th, the District Farmers' Association sent an open letter to the Khanh Hoa Young Entrepreneurs Association and other business clubs to call for joint efforts in supporting the sale of Australian mangoes.

On May 8th, the Cam Lam District Party Committee issued a directive instructing mass organizations to take action and provide timely support to the people. The Cam Lam District People's Committee also reported to the Provincial People's Committee, proposing that relevant departments and agencies mobilize businesses to support the distribution of Australian mangoes through the Bach Hoa Xanh supermarket and retail system, as well as wholesale markets nationwide. Hopefully, these timely actions will help rescue Cam Lam's Australian mangoes and alleviate some of the difficulties faced by farmers during this challenging mango season.

JUDGMENT

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/phong-su/202505/xoai-uc-cho-giai-cuu-5331968/