Thuy Dung
Farmers in central Vietnam collect watermelon for sale to wholesalers. Vietnam's watermelon prices have tumbled as traders now cannot ship this product to China - Photo: Thanh Hai
In the central province of Phu Yen, the fruit tumbled from VND4,500 (21 U.S. cents) per kilogram to VND1,500 and even VND1,000 by the end of last month.
In the same boat are farmers in the Mekong Delta. Nguyen Van Cuong, a watermelon grower in Tien Giang, said that the next watermelon harvest would come in the next two weeks in the Mekong Delta province and that if the price was as slow as VND2,000-4,000 per kilo, farmers would incur huge losses.
Late last month, hundreds of watermelon growers in Soc Trang, Hau Giang, Vinh Long and Tien Giang provinces had to sell their products at only VND10,000 for three kilos or even for five to seven kilos.
According to the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association, Vietnam’s watermelon is now being stuck at the Tan Thanh border gate in Lao Cai Province as farmers have had a bumper crop this year, causing an oversupply on the domestic market. Meanwhile, China, the main export market for Vietnamese watermelon, has tight controls on importing the fruit.
Nguyen Van Binh, vice chairman of the Lang Son People’s Committee, said this northern province had sent a delegation to China seeking ways to allow the fruit in via sub-border gates in Lang Son such as Coc Nam, Chi Ma, and Binh Nghi instead of making the fruit through the Tan Thanh border gate only.
However, the solution is seen by some experts as being temporary. They said the core reason was that there had not been any sound prediction about supply and demand of agricultural products so farmers cultivated any plants they wanted without a sound market strategy.
Đăng ký: VietNam News