High rice prices, Hau Giang farmers still worry about output

Not as excited as last season, Mr. Nguyen Van Be (Long My district, Hau Giang province) is currently quite worried as traders are still hesitant to deposit for the 2024 summer-autumn crop.

Mr. Be said: "In the previous crop, traders proactively called me to deposit, but this crop I had to go find them. I called 2-3 people but they hesitated to reschedule because the price of rice sometimes increased and sometimes decreased so they did not dare to buy."

It is known that Mr. Be's 8 hectares of land will be harvested in about a week. This is also the reason why this old farmer is anxious, running around looking for traders for the past few days.

Rice prices are currently high, ranging from 7,000 - 11,000 VND/kg. Photo: Phuong Anh

"If we can't sell the rice right away after harvesting, we have to bring it home to dry and store. Drying is very difficult this rainy season. If the weather is cloudy for many days and the rice sprouts, then even if we can sell it later, the price will be squeezed," said Mr. Be.

Normally, about 20 days before the rice harvest, Mr. Nguyen Van Bay (a rice trader in Hau Giang province) will go to each household to deposit, but this season, he only deposited 3-5 days before the harvest.

Talking about the reason, Mr. Bay said: "Last season, I lost nearly 20 million VND in deposit because I placed an order early, then the rice price dropped and I couldn't negotiate the price. Therefore, the purchasing power is not as hot as before, the rice price has been stagnant for the past few days so I'm also cautious, afraid of losing again."

Traders hesitate to buy, causing difficulties for farmers. Photo: Bich Ngoc

According to the agricultural sector of Hau Giang province, as of early August, the whole province had harvested more than 62,000 hectares out of a total of nearly 74,200 hectares of summer-autumn rice that had been planted. The unharvested summer-autumn rice areas are concentrated in Long My district, Phung Hiep district, Long My town...

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), in the first 6 months of 2024, the whole country harvested 3.48 million hectares of rice, an increase of 0.5% over the same period in 2023; the average yield was 67.1 quintals/ha, an increase of 0.7 quintals/ha; the output on the harvested area reached 23.3 million tons, an increase of 1.6%.

Rice traders believe that rice could face challenges in terms of price and volume if India lifts its ban on rice exports in the second half of 2024. However, India has so far made no clear move on whether to continue banning or lifting the ban on white rice exports.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, from now until the end of the year, the Ministry will continue to coordinate to organize conferences to assess the situation of domestic rice production and rice export; listen to difficulties in production and export to have timely proposals and solutions.

According to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), on August 28, domestic rice prices decreased by 50-100 VND/kg, while paddy prices increased slightly by 100 VND/kg. In the export market, 100% broken rice remained at 440 USD/ton; 5% standard rice remained at 579 USD/ton; and 25% broken rice remained at 547 USD/ton.

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/gia-lua-cao-nong-dan-hau-giang-van-lo-lang-dau-ra-1386270.ldo