Cassava prices have dropped by more than half compared to last year, hundreds of households in Muong Lat district ( Thanh Hoa ) do not want to pull out the tubers because they do not have enough labor. With no traders coming to buy, cassava has been piled up on the road for many days.
These days, people in Muong Lat district are harvesting cassava, but the production atmosphere is not as bustling as last year. The reason is that cassava prices are too low, people do not have enough labor to harvest, or dig up the tubers and leave them for a few days but still no traders come to buy the goods.
Mr. Mua Seo Vu (born in 1973), residing in Nang 2 village, Muong Ly commune, said that his family has more than 4 hectares of hilly land growing cassava. Last year, the price of cassava reached 2,900 VND/kg, after deducting expenses, his family earned about 100 million VND.
“This year, the price of cassava has dropped by more than half, only 1,500 VND/kg, sometimes down to 900 VND/kg (depending on the time). At this price, my family does not want to harvest because it does not have enough labor,” said Mr. Vu.
According to Ms. Giang Thi Nang (born in 1990), residing in Suoi Long village, Tam Trung commune, in February, her family sold 500 kg of cassava for 1,500 VND/kg. Now the price continues to decrease, fluctuating from 900-1,300 VND/kg, making cassava growers not very interested in harvesting.
With the current selling price, according to people's calculations, it is only enough to make a profit.
“This year’s cassava output is higher than last year’s, but due to the low price and lack of outlets, people are discouraged. Many families are afraid of leaving it too long, so they have to pull it out en masse. However, after harvesting, the cassava has been piled up for several days and no traders have come to buy it,” Ms. Nắng shared.
Mr. Tran Van Thang, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Muong Lat district, informed that the whole district has more than 3,000 hectares of cassava, mainly concentrated in the communes of Trung Ly, Muong Ly, Pu Nhi and Tam Chung.
In the past two years, cassava has been considered the main crop to help the locality escape poverty, earning more than 100 billion VND each year. This year, cassava output is higher but prices are low, so the figure is only 50-60 billion VND.
According to Mr. Thang, the reason for the sharp drop in cassava prices is that many areas in the northern provinces have also expanded their acreage, in addition, cassava starch exports to the Chinese and European markets are slow.
With more than 3,000 hectares of cassava in the whole district, but Phuc Thinh Agricultural and Forestry Products Processing and Materials Joint Stock Company (affiliated unit) has only been able to consume about 1,600 hectares, the rest depends on traders and cassava processing factories in the lowlands.
“The district has assigned communes to establish a cassava planting steering committee to find units to purchase and consume products for the people. For now, we recommend that people maintain a stable cassava planting area and not expand it further.
The district also continues to seek solutions to purchase products, ensure output... to avoid the current situation of good harvest but low prices," said Mr. Thang.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/gia-san-rot-tham-nong-dan-muong-lat-chat-day-duong-cho-thuong-lai-den-mua-2381040.html
Comment (0)