Papayas fall all over the ground because businesses refuse to buy them

Nghe An Nearly 14 hectares of papaya of Tay Hieu cooperative are ready for harvest but the partner has not purchased them yet, causing the fruit to fall all over the ground, putting people at risk of losing billions.

On the morning of August 17, standing in the middle of a garden of ripe papaya in Tay Hieu commune, Thai Hoa town, Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung, Director of Tay Hieu Cooperative, was worried when the fruits on the trees occasionally fell but no one from Nafoods Passion Fruit Joint Stock Company came to buy them as promised.

Seeing many papaya trees piled with rotten ripe fruit, covered with insects, Mr. Trung could only cover his nose and walk away, not daring to mobilize human resources to collect and destroy them for "fear of violating the contract". The cooperative planted more than 27,000 papaya trees, achieving a yield of 200 tons of fruit per hectare, but at this time, they have not been sold in time, so each hectare has lost about 50 tons.

"According to the contract, if any party cancels the sale or purchase, they will be fined double. Since mid-July, the fruit has rotted but must still be left in the garden," said Mr. Trung.

A garden of Taiwanese pink papaya at Tay Hieu agricultural cooperative. Photo: Lam Hung — A garden of Taiwanese pink papaya at Tay Hieu agricultural cooperative. Photo: *Lam Hung*

In November 2022, Tay Hieu Agricultural Cooperative and Nafoods Passion Fruit Joint Stock Company (Quan Bau Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Province) signed a contract to supply Taiwanese papaya seedlings and purchase fruit products. Tay Hieu purchased seedlings for planting and development, while Nafoods purchased fresh ripe fruit, equivalent to 80 tons per hectare, from July 2023 to December 2024.

16 families inside and outside the cooperative participated in growing papaya on an area of nearly 14 hectares. On average, each household invested more than 300 million VND, working from 5 sao to 2 hectares. To date, the trees have grown nearly 2 meters high, each tree producing about 100 kilograms of fruit.

However, on July 19, right at harvest time, Nafoods Company sent a notice to terminate the economic contract "due to force majeure, affected by the Russia-Ukraine war" and could not export.

According to Mr. Trung, the Russia-Ukraine war has been going on since February 2022, while the two sides only signed the contract in November of the same year, so the reason Nafoods gave was unreasonable, causing great damage to the cooperative. Tay Hieu wanted Nafoods to support 16 households, each with more than 300 million VND in investment capital, if not purchasing, but received no response.

Ripe papaya leaves fall all over the ground and rot, but the cooperative has not collected and destroyed them for fear of violating the contract with its partners. Photo: Lam Hung — Ripe papayas have fallen all over the ground, but the cooperative has not collected and destroyed them for fear of violating the contract with its partners. Photo: *Lam Hung*

"I have been working in the cooperative since 2018, growing various crops such as chili peppers, corn flour, watermelon, cantaloupe..., and all partners purchase according to the commitment. This is the first time I have encountered such an awkward situation," said Mr. Trung.

Mr. Nguyen The Duong, a member of Tay Hieu Cooperative, said that his family had renovated the land, installed an automatic irrigation system, and brought in fertilizer, and bought about 1,000 Taiwanese papaya seedlings from Nafoods to plant. Now the fruit is ripe all over the ground but cannot be purchased, and there is a risk of heavy losses because he had to borrow 175 million VND to invest.

Tay Hieu Cooperative calculates that an average hectare of papaya yields 200 tons of fruit. With a commitment to purchase at 3,500 VND per kilogram, if all goes well, people can earn more than 500 million VND per hectare. Currently, 16 members are at risk of losing more than 7 billion VND if the partner unilaterally cancels the contract without compensation.

Many ripe papayas are still on the tree but have already rotted. Photo: Lam Hung — Many ripe papayas were damaged. Photo: *Hung Le*

The leader of Nafoods Passion Fruit Joint Stock Company said that the company still maintains its stance of not purchasing ripe papaya from Tay Hieu Cooperative, due to the current economic difficulties and fluctuations in the international export market. "The unit will have a meeting with Tay Hieu to finalize this issue," said a company representative.

Mr. Nguyen Thu Trung, Head of the Economic Department of Thai Hoa town, said that Tay Hieu cooperative and Nafoods signed the contract but did not notify the government to witness and support.

"After reviewing, we found that some terms are not beneficial to farmers when the partner unilaterally terminates. We are waiting for the meeting on August 18 between the two sides," said Mr. Trung, adding that if Nafoods cancels papaya purchases, the government will mobilize people and organizations to join the rescue.

Duc Hung

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