Rice prices remain high, farmers in the West have a big Tet once every 10 years

Good season, good price

At this time, farmers in some provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta have entered the harvest of the winter-spring rice crop. According to farmers, thanks to the still quite high rice price and a good harvest, they have made a lot of profit.

In Soc Trang province, Mr. Nguyen Van Phuong (Ke Sach district) has finished harvesting 1 hectare of Winter-Spring rice crop of OM 5451 variety, with a yield of nearly 9 tons.

“Traders buy at 9,800 VND/kg, 3,000 VND/kg higher than last year. After deducting all costs, the profit is about 45 million VND, an increase of 20 million VND compared to last year,” said Mr. Phuong.

Thanks to early planting to avoid drought and salinity, 0.5ha of winter-spring rice of Mr. Tran Van Ti (Long Phu district, Soc Trang province) has been harvested. Mr. Ti could not help but be happy and excited when harvesting nearly 5 tons of rice, selling at 9,500 VND/kg.

Mr. Ti said: “When I first started farming, I thought that the price of rice would only be high at 8,000 VND/kg and then I would stop. I didn’t expect that the price of rice would increase, and when I sold it, it was 9,500 VND/kg. The price of rice was high, and the harvest was good. This crop, I made a profit of more than 20 million VND.”

In Hau Giang, Can Tho, Bac Lieu, ... the winter-spring crop will start harvesting after the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin 2024. Currently, many farmers cannot hide their joy when the price is still high at 7,500 - 10,000 VND/kg, depending on the type, expecting a bumper crop at the beginning of the new year.

Mr. Nguyen Van Nghia (Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city) said: "My family will not harvest until the 15th of January, but traders have already paid a deposit of 9,400 VND/kg. I work very hard in the fields this season, now I am not worried about the price, I just hope to have a good harvest for good luck at the beginning of the new year."

Big Tet every 10 years

According to some farmers in the provinces and cities of the West, rice prices are still high as the winter-spring rice crop is in the harvest stage, which is an opportunity for farmers to "win big".

“Since my wife and I moved out and started farming rice for nearly 15 years, this is the first time I have nearly 50 million VND in profit after harvest. A few years ago, rice prices were low and traders forced down the price, so the profit was only enough for the next crop, and we didn’t dare buy much for Tet. This year, it was a godsend. After taking the money, my wife and I went to the market to buy Tet items right away,” said Nguyen Van Phuong.

Mr. Tran Van Ti (Long Phu district, Soc Trang province) said: "This rice crop, I made a profit of more than 20 million VND and this is the highest profit ever. I spent a little money to buy seeds for the next crop, the rest to renovate the house, buy furniture to celebrate Tet."

According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Soc Trang province, in 2023, rice export turnover is estimated to reach 450 million USD, an increase of nearly 34% compared to 2022, accounting for 30% of the province's total export turnover; mainly exported to traditional and key markets such as the Philippines and China.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam informed that in the first 11 months of 2023, Vietnam's rice exports are estimated to reach 7.75 million tons in volume and 4.41 billion USD in value, up 16.2% and 36.3% respectively over the same period in 2022, and are expected to reach 5 billion USD by the end of 2023. The average export price of rice in the 11 months is estimated at 568 USD/ton, up 17.3% over the same period.

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