Farmers in the Mekong Delta, the country's largest fruit growing area,are struggling to sell their produce because local markets are dominatedby Thai imports.
Their plight is worsened by falling prices.
In An Giang province alone, hundreds of tonnes of Thai fruits,including durian, mangosteen, tamarind, mango and langsat, are importedinto the province and distributed to markets in the Delta, HCM City andeven to the central and northern regions, the Sai Gon Giai Phong(Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reports.
Tu Tieu, a fruittrader in the province's Tinh Bien Market, said she had signed contractsto import about 7-10 tonnes of Thai fruits from Cambodia permonth.
"I sell Thai fruits to other wholesale shops in AnGiang and other provinces in the Delta, and also in HCM City ," shesaid.
The import prices of most Thai fruits were muchcheaper than local fruits and traders often doubled or tripled theirprices when they distributed them in the Delta.
Tieu also claimed that people preferred imported fruits to local ones.
Thai langsat, tamarind and mangosteen were sold at 30,000 VND (1.5 USD)per kg but consumers still bought them because they were both goodlooking and delicious, said a wholesale trader at Can Tho city's NinhKieu Wharf.
Meanwhile, the prices of several local fruitshad decreased as the main harvest season approached, and farmers wereunable to find outlets for their produce, the newspaper reported.
Le Quang Tu, who grows rambutan in Vinh Long province's Tra Ondistrict, said the fruits in his orchard were ripening, but prices hadfallen to 3,000-4,000 VND a kg.
"A few months ago, traderscame to my orchard and offered to purchase my rambutan for between10,000-15,000 VND a kilo," Tu said.
He said a few days agohe had transported his rambutan to Can Tho city and sold them on thestreet for 6,000 VND a kilo, but was not able to sell all of them.
Meanwhile, the high prices of locally grown speciality fruits likedurian, mangosteen and king orange, at 25,000-35,000 VND a kilo, are notfinding many consumers.
Nguyen Minh Chau, head of theSouthern Fruit Research Institute, said local fruits were not reallymore expensive than imported ones.
The prices of manylocal specialty fruits were much higher than imported ones because therewere too many layers of traders in the distribution channel from theorchards to ultimate consumers, Chau said.
Under thecurrent distribution network, farmers sell their fruits to localbrokers, who sell them to locally based wholesalers, who then sell themto wholesale shops in other localities, from where they get to retailshops and retail traders before reaching consumers.
"Witheach distribution layer, the prices of local fruits are pushed higher,so when the fruits reach consumers, their prices end up being are high,"Chau said./.
Their plight is worsened by falling prices.
In An Giang province alone, hundreds of tonnes of Thai fruits,including durian, mangosteen, tamarind, mango and langsat, are importedinto the province and distributed to markets in the Delta, HCM City andeven to the central and northern regions, the Sai Gon Giai Phong(Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper reports.
Tu Tieu, a fruittrader in the province's Tinh Bien Market, said she had signed contractsto import about 7-10 tonnes of Thai fruits from Cambodia permonth.
"I sell Thai fruits to other wholesale shops in AnGiang and other provinces in the Delta, and also in HCM City ," shesaid.
The import prices of most Thai fruits were muchcheaper than local fruits and traders often doubled or tripled theirprices when they distributed them in the Delta.
Tieu also claimed that people preferred imported fruits to local ones.
Thai langsat, tamarind and mangosteen were sold at 30,000 VND (1.5 USD)per kg but consumers still bought them because they were both goodlooking and delicious, said a wholesale trader at Can Tho city's NinhKieu Wharf.
Meanwhile, the prices of several local fruitshad decreased as the main harvest season approached, and farmers wereunable to find outlets for their produce, the newspaper reported.
Le Quang Tu, who grows rambutan in Vinh Long province's Tra Ondistrict, said the fruits in his orchard were ripening, but prices hadfallen to 3,000-4,000 VND a kg.
"A few months ago, traderscame to my orchard and offered to purchase my rambutan for between10,000-15,000 VND a kilo," Tu said.
He said a few days agohe had transported his rambutan to Can Tho city and sold them on thestreet for 6,000 VND a kilo, but was not able to sell all of them.
Meanwhile, the high prices of locally grown speciality fruits likedurian, mangosteen and king orange, at 25,000-35,000 VND a kilo, are notfinding many consumers.
Nguyen Minh Chau, head of theSouthern Fruit Research Institute, said local fruits were not reallymore expensive than imported ones.
The prices of manylocal specialty fruits were much higher than imported ones because therewere too many layers of traders in the distribution channel from theorchards to ultimate consumers, Chau said.
Under thecurrent distribution network, farmers sell their fruits to localbrokers, who sell them to locally based wholesalers, who then sell themto wholesale shops in other localities, from where they get to retailshops and retail traders before reaching consumers.
"Witheach distribution layer, the prices of local fruits are pushed higher,so when the fruits reach consumers, their prices end up being are high,"Chau said./.
