Since they sell fresh rice right after harvesting, farmers are not benefiting from rising prices. – (Photo: danviet.vn) HCM City (VNA) - Many farmers in the Mekong Delta are regrettingthat they did not stockpile any rice as prices rise continuously and supplyremains limited.
Rice traders, meanwhile, are also finding it difficult to getenough of the grain for exports.
The 2017 crop year is coming to an end. In provinces withlarge production areas and high yields, such as Kien Giang, An Giang or DongThap, the amount of rice yet to be harvested is small, while there is noinventory as farmers have been selling their produce soon after harvesting it.
Nguyen Minh Thien of Kien Giang province’s Tan Hiep districttold the Nong Thon Ngay Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that hisfamily finished harvesting three weeks ago.
“At that time, freshly harvested OM 5451 rice was selling at 5,100 VND (0.25 USD) per kilogram. Now, it has since risen by 500 VND per kilogrambut there is no rice left. We should have stocked dried rice to get theadditional 10 million VND (440 USD) with our 18 tonnes of rice,” he said.
Le Van Manh, head of Tan Hiep district Department of Agricultureand Rural Development (DoARD), said that local farmers had planted 34,158ha ofrice with approximate productivity of 5.5 tonnes per ha.
“Most of the crop was harvested when the rice price wasat average levels. Only about 10,000ha of rice were gathered when the pricesrose. Since farmers no longer stock dried rice, they are disappointed about themissed chance,” said Manh.
An Giang province started its harvest season late. Localfarmers here say that it is rare to have rice prices rising from 300 VND to 600 VND per kilogram in such a short time.
Tu Khanh Nhon of Chau Phu district’s Thanh My Tay commune isharvesting his crop. He said the farmers worked very hard to save rice fieldsfrom flooding by strengthening local dykes. Their work has paid off.
Over the last two weeks, traders have deposited 500,000 VND (25 USD) for every 0.1 ha and bought rice at 5,500 VND to 5,800 VND per kilogram, anincrease of 450 VND to 600 VND per kilogram compared to the previous crop. With aproductivity of 850kg, his family can earn about 2 million VND (88 USD) for every0.1 ha.
According to the Vĩnh Long People’s Committee, becauseof salinisation, the rice production area has been reducing steadily. In2017 it was 168,805ha, a drop of 7,624 ha over 2016. But productivity has beenhigh.
Meanwhile, traders and enterprises are facing difficulties incollecting rice due to limited supply.
Nguyen Thanh Nha, a trader in Can Tho city’s Thoi Lai district, said that he had to go to Kien Giang and An Giang provinces for twoto three days to buy just 30 tonnes of fresh rice.
“For this crop, export companies order large quantities ofrice at higher prices. However, it is hard to get enough rice at this time. Wehave to deposit money 15 to 20 days in advance, otherwise, farmers will sellthe rice to other traders,” he said.
Nguyen Thi Kieu, deputy director of Can Tho city's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, affirmed that rice prices were increasing because of limitedsupply. Simultaneously, in 2017, besides traditional markets like China, theprovince has signed several rice export contracts with news markets includingBangladesh and the Philippines.
Tran Ngoc Toan, another trader in Vinh Long province, said:“A month ago, the price was at 5,000 VND per kilogram, now, it is 5,400 to5,600 VND. So many farmers are waiting for higher prices. Three days ago, I boughtabout 200 ha of rice at 5,600 VND per kilogram, but I could not collect anythingyesterday.”
Nguyen Trung Tin, director of the Phan Minh AgriculturalCompany in Kien Giang province, said he was worried about the current situation.
“We are being challenged by the supply shortage. However,there is also a dilemma, since input prices and processing costs are risinghigher than the rice prices,” he said.-VNA
VNA
