Red dragon fruit price is half
At the end of April 2024, the price of grade 1 red-fleshed dragon fruit in Chau Thanh district fluctuated between 42,000 - 43,000 VND/kg, but now it is only 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg. With the same red flesh, grade 2 and grade 3 were from 30,000 - 37,000 VND/kg, now down to 5,000 - 9,000 VND/kg. For white-fleshed dragon fruit, it remains at 11,000 - 13,000 VND/kg, a very small decrease compared to red-fleshed dragon fruit.
Gardeners are harvesting ripe dragon fruit in Chau Thanh district, Long An. Photo: Thien Long
Not only is the price of dragon fruit low, but gardeners are also facing many difficulties in inviting traders to their gardens to buy dragon fruit. "They say the price is unstable so they are not buying in bulk, they need to wait for the output. Meanwhile, the dragon fruit is starting to ripen, if we wait too long, it will all spoil," said a dragon fruit farmer in Chau Thanh district.
On the morning of July 31, talking with Mr. Nguyen Van Tuong (57 years old, residing in Hamlet 4, Hiep Thanh Commune, Chau Thanh District), Mr. Tuong said that the sharp decrease in the price of red-fleshed dragon fruit was due to increased supply as it was entering the peak harvest season. Meanwhile, export output was slow, and domestic demand for this fruit was weak.
Gardeners are harvesting red-fleshed dragon fruit to deliver to traders in Chau Thanh district. Photo: Thien Long
Mr. Tuong added that the sharp drop in dragon fruit prices has caused many gardeners to lose money because the fruit cannot be sold to cover costs. At the current price, gardeners can only earn about half of the production costs, while the rest of the costs for labor, fertilizer, pesticides, flood protection dykes, etc. must be covered out of pocket.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung (61 years old, living in Hamlet 9, Hiep Thanh Commune) has 3 hectares of red-fleshed dragon fruit and will be harvesting the fruit in a week. She said that if the average price is 30,000 VND/kg, the gardener will make a profit, although not much, but at 20,000 VND/kg, it will only break even or lose capital.
Struggling to find an outlet for dragon fruit
Long An Department of Industry and Trade informed that recently, the Department has created conditions to connect dragon fruit growers with export enterprises, supermarket chains, and domestic and international stores; at the same time, promoting the Long An dragon fruit brand to potential new markets, such as Japan, Korea, Australia, the US and Europe...
A blooming dragon fruit garden was heavily flooded due to prolonged rain in Vinh Cong commune, Chau Thanh district.
Along with that, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Long An province has recommended that farmers grow dragon fruit in different seasons according to market demand and promote the application of models and technical processes to reduce input costs and prices; focus on cultivation according to VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic,... to improve the quality and value of dragon fruit, meeting the requirements of export markets.
Up to now, Long An province has more than 4,950 hectares of dragon fruit applying high technology. To aim at the goal of producing dragon fruit that meets export standards, Long An has built nearly 950 hectares of dragon fruit that meets VietGAP standards, with 228 dragon fruit growing area codes granted for export to foreign markets, such as: Korea, Japan, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the EU, Russia, the United Kingdom, China and some neighboring countries.
Currently, the dragon fruit area in Long An is more than 7,678 hectares, the harvest output in the first 6 months of 2024 is estimated at 107,700 tons, equal to 105.2% (an increase of 5,150 tons) over the same period, mainly concentrated in Chau Thanh district, a few districts of Tan Tru, Thu Thua, Tan An city...
Because the price of dragon fruit has been quite unstable in recent years, many gardeners have had to cut down large areas to find new varieties to replace dragon fruit.
Source: https://danviet.vn/thanh-long-trung-mua-nhung-nong-dan-long-an-phai-bu-tien-tra-no-mua-vu-20240731105454556.htm
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