Recently, the Vietnamese agricultural market has witnessed a rather surprising phenomenon: The price of fresh areca nuts has skyrocketed. In Phu Tho, the price of fresh areca nuts before the 15th day of the 9th lunar month has reached 100,000 VND/kg, 2-3 times higher than the same period last year. This number makes many people think of the price of gold, and many people have compared areca nuts to the "green gold" of farmers.
Fresh areca nut prices hit record high.
In just the past month, the price of this fruit has been continuously climbing. In many localities across the country, the price of fresh areca nuts is at a record high of 90,000-100,000 VND/kg.
If in previous years, the price of areca nuts at the beginning of the season purchased at some gardens in Phu Tho province was about 20,000 VND/kg, in 2024, right from the beginning of the season, the price of areca nuts reached 40,000 - 50,000 VND/kg.
Specifically, from mid-September (solar calendar), the price of fresh areca nuts in Phu Tho was 40,000-50,000 VND/kg, the price of areca nuts continued to be pushed up to over 60,000-70,000 VND/kg within just one month when being purchased by traders at the garden (as of October 14).
Owning 20 areca trees that have been planted for about 25 years, Mr. and Mrs. Cuong Hien (Thanh Ha hamlet, Cao Xa commune, Lam Thao district) said: Around mid-September, traders came to buy from my garden for 45,000 VND/kg, by the end of September, they bought for 50,000 VND/kg, 4-5 days ago, they bought for 60,000 VND/kg. That day, my family sold 3 areca nuts, earning 1.8 million VND, 3 times more than last year. Today, I heard that they bought for 70,000 VND/kg in other communes.
Mr. and Mrs. Cuong Hien's family (Thanh Ha hamlet, Cao Xa commune) own 20 areca trees that are 25 years old.
However, not everyone can benefit from the high price of areca nuts. Ms. Hoang Thi Thu, a trader in Lam Thao district, said that due to the high price of fresh areca nuts, Ms. Thu has to calculate carefully when importing areca nuts to sell: "For about half a month now, China has been buying areca nuts at 70,000-80,000 VND/kg, so I also have to buy at 70,000-100,000 VND/kg depending on the type of fruit. With such a high price, I only dare to import the lowest type of 70,000 VND/kg, maintaining the price of 5,000-7,000 VND/fruit, however, the fruit samples are not as beautiful and uniformly large as the 100,000 VND/kg type.
Mrs. Thu explained: "Last year, fresh areca nuts were purchased at the garden for 20,000 VND/kg and there were still no buyers. My family planted 2 trees and had to abandon 2 bunches because the trees were too tall. Even if we hired someone to climb and pick them, the money from selling areca nuts would not be enough to cover the cost of hiring workers."
In Phu Tho, the price of fresh areca nuts before the 15th day of the 9th lunar month has reached 100,000 VND/kg.
A areca nut vendor at Viet Tri City Central Market informed: “The current retail price of areca nut is 8,000 VND/nut. The traders told me to calculate the price per nut, not by weight anymore. At this time, having areca nut to sell is good enough, they said China is buying a lot, their whole family has to stay up day and night, collecting areca nut everywhere to deliver to retail customers. My place is a long-time customer, so I was left with a little to sell.”
The scarcity of areca nuts and the high prices have made many people question the cause of this phenomenon. According to information from many traders, the main reason for the sudden increase in areca nut prices is the strong increase in demand from the Chinese market.
Traders in China are rushing to buy areca nuts to process into cough drops, causing the domestic supply of areca nuts to become scarce. In addition to Chinese businesses purchasing, there are also Indian businesses ordering areca nuts from many localities.
In previous years, the price of areca nuts imported by traders for sale was only about 30,000 VND/kg.
Ms. Tran Loan, a trader in the province, informed: “I have to go to many small gardens to collect enough areca nuts to deliver to customers. Small traders want to import areca nuts to sell on the 15th day of the 9th lunar month, the wholesale price will be 100,000 VND/kg, but I have no more goods to sell because most of them have to be left for regular customers. China has bought them all, that is why the price of areca nuts in Vietnam has increased and is scarce. I am afraid that from now until Tet, the price of areca nuts will continue to be high.”
Not only Phu Tho province, but also most provinces and cities in the country buy fresh areca nuts at sky-high prices. However, areca nuts are mainly consumed in the Chinese market, so there are many potential risks due to unstable prices.
As every year, the common price of fresh areca nuts ranges from 20,000 to 40,000 VND/kg. The most recent price spike was in September 2021, reaching 70,000 VND/kg. At that time, experts and authorities advised people not to follow the temporary price surge because the product was not yet officially allowed to be exported to the Chinese market.
Any house that has many fresh areca trees for harvest sells them for 70,000-100,000 VND/kg of fruit depending on the model.
The high price of areca nut has reached 100,000/kg, which is unprecedented. The recent sharp increase in the price of areca nut is a remarkable phenomenon. Although it brings many benefits to areca nut growers, it also raises many questions about the sustainability of the market. The high price of areca nut also causes the cost of areca nut products to increase, causing many difficulties for consumers.
Bao Thoa
Source: https://baophutho.vn/gia-qua-cau-tuoi-tang-bat-ngo-220815.htm
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