08:29, 04/08/2023
Dak Lak durian has just entered the harvest season, but the price at the beginning of the season has been pushed up to sky-high levels, double that of last year. This is both a joy and a worry for the durian industry.
Price disturbance because of... "brokers"
In the 2023 durian crop, Dak Lak has 22,500 hectares, with an output of over 200,000 tons. Experts assess that this year's durian crop in Dak Lak will have many advantages in terms of price (increasing by 15 - 20%) as well as the consumption market. Some gardeners have started harvesting, with quite high selling prices, this is a good sign for durian farmers. However, the high price increase of many "brokers" as well as some buyers has caused risks for both businesses and farmers.
According to records in some durian growing areas of Dak Lak, there are currently many traders, including Chinese people and durian brokers, who are "inflating" the price up to 75,000 - 90,000 VND/kg when buying in bulk at the garden, double the price at this time last year. A durian broker said that their task is to find beautiful durian gardens, then take photos and videos to send to Chinese buyers and they will offer a purchase price, if the garden owner agrees, they will close the deal. If the deal is successful, the broker will receive a "commission" of about 1,000 VND/kg.
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| Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ke's durian garden (Doan Ket ward, Buon Ho town) will not be ready for harvest in about a month. |
While many businesses have declared that they will not import goods at the current high purchase price, many businesses have begun to set a deposit price with farmers (30% of the value of the orchard), but the contract is not binding, does not specify a specific cutting date, only states that when the fruit falls, it will be cut, and does not state the date of returning the orchard...
Ms. Bui Thu Phuong, Director of Tan Khang Sustainable Agricultural Trade and Service Cooperative (Cu M'gar district) said that, facing the situation of traders pushing up the purchase price, up to 80% of members did not close the sale of products to the cooperative but sold them outside, because compared to the cooperative's price at the time when the fruit was beautiful and closed at 75,000 VND/kg, the outside price was closed at 95,000 VND/kg. The price difference was very high, so member gardens compared and considered.
Faced with the above situation, the cooperative has also warned farmers, but farmers see immediate profits so they still accept the fixed price. With this situation, the cooperative is very worried about farmers, firstly, they may be tied to the garden (letting the fruit fall, then forcing down the price); secondly, in case the farmer "breaks" the stake, the buyer may hire gangsters to protect them, not allowing the garden owner to cut and sell to others.
“The high price situation will lead to competition in buying and selling, causing insecurity and disorder. This requires the involvement of local authorities to ensure the 2023 durian harvest is safe and smooth,” said Mr. Vu Duc Con , Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chairman of the Dak Lak Durian Association. |
In Buon Ho town, the situation of "brokers" entering gardens to fix prices is also common in durian growing areas. Mr. Bui Thanh Huynh, Director of Buon Ho Agricultural Cooperative, said that this year, durians of all members are in season, with productivity increasing by about 20% compared to last year. There is still about a month left until the durian harvest, but there are also cases of some durian "brokers" from other places coming to ask for high prices (about 100,000 VND/kg), causing market turmoil, making many people hesitant and not yet signing purchase contracts with affiliated units.
Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ke's family (Doan Ket Ward, Buon Ho Town) said that for many days now, his family has been forced to lock the garden door to avoid being disturbed. On average, every day, Mr. Ke has to deal with dozens of "brokers" coming to buy durian and negotiate the final price of the garden. He has never seen a year where "brokers" shout out prices and make a mess of prices like this year.
Mr. Ke said that this year his family's durian output is estimated at 15 tons, but it will take about 40 more days to reach the quality needed for harvesting. Although the "broker" offered a price of more than 100,000 VND/kg, Mr. Ke did not agree and decided to wait for the harvest to sell at market price. Because with his experience through the durian seasons, he said that the "broker" setting a price higher than the agents and purchasing units is not necessarily a happy thing but has many potential risks. Especially the situation where the "broker" stays in the garden, does not set a date to return the garden, causing the garden to be neglected, susceptible to pests and diseases, or the tree to be exhausted due to having to grow fruit for too long, will affect the development and productivity of the next crop.
Many risks
Explaining the reason why durian prices are pushed up, economic experts say that when Vietnam and China signed the Protocol on official durian exports, it caused a trend of competing to buy durian gardens. In fact, there are not too many durians in Vietnam, but there are many people joining in to buy. Buyers all want to find new suppliers like Vietnam. The price of over 100,000 VND/kg of durian is not real value, it is a competitive price. Therefore, people need to be alert to the current price chaos.
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| Farmers in Cu M'gar district harvest durian at the beginning of the season. |
According to durian growing cooperatives, when farmers have good techniques, the production cost is under 20,000 VND/kg; if not, it is about 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg. Therefore, with a stable selling price of 50,000 - 60,000 VND/kg, farmers can rest assured to produce and develop sustainably.
However, the current difficulty is that the competition for purchase causes prices to be pushed up, and farmers do not know what is the real price and what is the "virtual" price. In addition, farmers do not have experience and techniques to evaluate the proportion of ripe fruit for cutting as well as cutting techniques in the garden, so it is easy for traders to force down prices and anchor the garden. If farmers master the techniques, sell at the right time and at the right price, it will be more convenient and proactive, instead of just following the market price, not being able to distinguish between the real price and the "virtual" price, which will lead to many risks.
Mr. Vu Duc Con, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chairman of the Dak Lak Durian Association, assessed that the 2023 durian crop has many advantages, first of all, it is consumed at a high price and has a more stable output because durian has been officially exported to the Chinese market. In addition, people have invested and taken better care of their gardens, so the yield is quite high; the output is about 200,000 tons, an increase of 20,000 tons compared to the 2022 crop.
However, the biggest disadvantage of this year's durian crop is that the purchasing situation is very "hot", so it is possible that early price fixing will have disadvantages and negative consequences because many contracts will be difficult to execute as signed (when prices fluctuate during the harvest season).
On the other hand, if we keep chasing prices, sustainable development and long-term cooperation will be neglected and affect the quality of products sold in this season, as well as the sustainable development of the durian industry. The Association only recommends that gardeners need to be calm and not rush to close prices early, which can be disadvantageous to themselves and buyers. In addition to price, it is necessary to pay due attention to cooperation and sustainable cooperation with businesses and buyers who invest in each season or in the long term.
Minh Thuan - Tuyet Mai
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