Rice prices drop sharply, farmers worry about losing Tet

Many rice businesses predict that rice prices will continue to decrease and request the government to purchase and temporarily store rice soon to prevent the price drop and support farmers - Photo: BUU DAU

According to businesses, India has reopened rice exports, while Vietnam's two traditional rice export markets, the Philippines and Indonesia, have not yet purchased rice, so rice prices have decreased, leading to a sharp drop in domestic rice prices.

Rice prices fall, traders abandon deposits

Ms. Nguyen Thi Xieu (Khanh Binh Tay Bac commune, Tran Van Thoi district, Ca Mau province) said that the price of ST24 rice is only 7,500 VND/kg but traders still do not want to buy, many traders even give up their deposits when they see the sharp drop in rice prices.

“If the price this year was as high as last year, we would have had a big Tet holiday, but unexpectedly, the price of rice dropped so dramatically. Traders had already put down deposits on more than 1.5 hectares of rice land this season, but because the price dropped so much, they abandoned their deposits and ran away,” Ms. Xieu complained.

According to Mr. Tran Thu Em (Tran Van Thoi district), the owner of 2 hectares of winter-spring rice will harvest after Tet. With the current rice price, farmers do not make a profit due to high costs and increased prices of fertilizers and pesticides.

“ST24 rice price is only 7,000 VND/kg, which is not profitable. Hopefully after Tet, rice price will increase again, but with the current decline, this year's rice crop will be unprofitable. Farmers are already facing difficulties due to reduced rice yield and falling prices, making it difficult to reinvest in the next crop,” said Mr. Thu Em.

Mr. Le Van Mua, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Thoi Binh Rice-Shrimp Service Cooperative, said that although organic rice-shrimp prices decreased less than those in specialized rice growing areas, ST24 rice was only purchased by traders at about VND8,000/kg, a decrease of more than VND3,000/kg compared to the same period last year.

“Farmers are harvesting in full swing, but prices are down, so many people are selling at a loss, forcing traders to lower prices. I think the government needs to have a policy of temporarily purchasing rice to prevent the price from falling and reduce pressure on farmers,” Mr. Mua suggested.

In the 2025 early winter-spring rice crop, the whole Ca Mau province has more than 35,220 hectares. Of which, Tran Van Thoi district planted the most with more than 28,900 hectares, and has so far harvested about 1,000 hectares.

According to Mr. Nguyen Viet Khai - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tran Van Thoi district, rice prices are down more than 2,000 VND/kg compared to a few months ago, so farmers' profits are also decreasing.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dien, Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of An Minh district, Kien Giang province, said that this locality mainly grows ST24, ST25 and Dai Thom 8 rice, but the price of ST24 and ST25 rice has dropped to 9,700 VND/kg, down 1,300 VND/kg compared to the same period.

Meanwhile, the price of Muc Ruoi Do (salt-tolerant rice) and Dai Thom 8 rice fluctuates around 6,700 - 6,800 VND/kg, down 1,200 VND/kg. "In general, farmers' profits will decrease compared to last year but there will still be a small profit," said Mr. Dien.

Will rice prices continue to fall?

The leader of a rice export business in Dong Thap province said that the sharp drop in rice prices was due to the Philippines stopping buying rice for more than a month, while India reopened its export market. However, the price of fragrant rice is fluctuating between VND6,400 and VND6,500 per kilogram, still higher than before India banned rice exports.

“After January 15, the Philippines will have information on whether or not it will continue to buy rice. Therefore, people should temporarily stop selling rice and wait. The government should also have a policy of temporary purchase and storage so that the current price level stops,” he said, adding that the company is still exporting tens of thousands of tons of rice from old contracts and has not signed any new export contracts.

The unit continues to offer export rice prices continuously, without stopping, but it is difficult to find new orders. "I think the price of rice from now until after Tet will still be 6,500 VND/kg for fragrant rice, and it will be difficult to lower it any further. However, with this price, farmers are still making a profit, not losing money," he affirmed.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Mr. Pham Thai Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung An High-Tech Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Can Tho City), admitted that rice prices have dropped sharply compared to the past two years, while the amount of rice is not much, mainly the amount of summer-autumn rice and early winter-spring rice, with small quantities. However, the sharp drop in rice prices is inevitable.

“India had a good harvest and opened exports. Some other countries had bumper harvests, while two traditional customers, the Philippines and Indonesia, had not yet bought rice, so world rice prices fell, leading to a sharp drop in paddy prices.

In my opinion, rice prices will continue to decrease from now until Tet, because most Vietnamese businesses have not signed new contracts. Businesses must sign contracts before they dare to buy rice from the people," said Mr. Binh.

According to Mr. Binh, the industry is not developing sustainably, so the price of rice will fluctuate from time to time and from place to place. Right at the peak harvest time, if there is no output, of course the rice will decrease. Vietnam exports rice all year round.

“However, if we want to develop the rice industry sustainably, we need to consider temporary storage when domestic rice prices drop sharply. Don’t wait until rice prices rise and there is no more rice to sell,” said Mr. Binh.

According to businesses, if they have enough capital, they will temporarily stockpile to be proactive when exporting. When the price is low, they will not export, and when the price is high, they will sell.

“If businesses have access to capital, they will proactively export; otherwise, they will have to sell off to pay off bank loans. Therefore, we must develop the rice industry sustainably to avoid the current price drop,” said one business.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gia-lua-giam-manh-nong-dan-lo-mat-tet-20250115223414301.htm