With the fruit harvest season drawing to a close, the prices of many fruits have begun increasing in the Mekong Delta.

In Tien Giang province's Tan Phuoc district, pineapple prices have shot up since the main harvest period in May and June.

Huynh Van Buon, head of the Tan Phuoc Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said traders are now willing to pay high prices for the fruit, which now costs 4,000-4,200 VND per kilogramme at the field, 3,000 VND higher than last month.

"At this price, pineapple farmers can make a profit of 35-40 million VND (1,600-1,900 USD) per hectare a year."

Many farmers expect the price to go up to 4,500-5,000 VND soon.

Tien Giang has more than 15,400ha under pineapple and an annual output of 200,000 tonnes.

With the application of Vietnamese Good Agriculture Practice (VietGap) standards, pineapple farmers here have earned good profits in recent years.

King orange prices have risen to a record high of 46,000-47,000 VND a kilogramme.

Supply is low not only because it is well past the peak harvest season but also because of citrus greening disease, which is fatal to citrus trees.

Tien Giang province, the delta's largest fruit growing area, has about 12,000ha of citrus fruits, including more than 6,000ha of king orange.

In Soc Trang province, traders are buying guava at orchards for 4,000-5,000 VND a kilogramme, double the price it fetched a month ago.

Nguyen Thi Hong Khanh of Ke Sach district's Thoi An Hoi commune said if the price stabilises at these levels farmers can make a profit of 200 million VND (9,500 USD) per hectare.

"The price increase has helped stabilise my family's income and guava cultivation," Khanh, who harvests around 200kg of the fruit every two days, said.

Ke Sach district, Soc Trang's largest guava growing area, has around 1,000ha under the fruit, according to the local Agriculture and Rural Development Bureau.

Guava has helped many local farmers escape poverty because it is easy to grow, cheap to tend, and the tree fruits for a long time, it added.-VNA