Farmers and businesses face difficulties
The Summer-Autumn Festival 2025 recorded many unfavorable fluctuations for the rice industry in Can Tho City. Rice prices have fallen sharply while production costs have increased, causing difficulties for farmers.
Mr. Nguyen Tin Thanh, a farmer in Thanh Trung hamlet (Trung Hung commune, Can Tho city), said that his family has 5 hectares of rice land, the recent Summer-Autumn crop reached nearly 40 tons. At the beginning of the season, traders deposited at VND6,200/kg, but when harvested, there were only VND5,000/kg left. After deducting production costs by about 150 million VND, the family only made a profit of about 50 million VND, down 40 million VND compared to the same period in 2024.
"When rice prices decrease, farmers' profits are also affected. Some households with conditions have kept rice to dry, dry, and wait for the price to increase before selling. However, most people are forced to sell immediately due to harvesting due to rain, high drying costs, while rice quality is easily reduced, causing the selling price to not reach the desired level," said Mr. Thanh.
Not only farmers, many rice export and trading enterprises in Trung Hung commune (Can Tho city) are also affected.
Chairman of Trung Hung Commune People's Committee Tran Van Dat said that there are 18 rice businesses in the area, most of which are currently operating at a low level due to reduced revenue. In this year's Summer-Autumn crop, purchases by traders and businesses have been limited, causing rice prices to drop sharply. OM rice variety price from 6,400 VND/kg at the beginning of the crop is now only about 5,000 VND/kg. The main reason is due to difficulties in exports and large inventories, making it impossible for traders and businesses to continue purchasing.
Mr. Tran Van Tinh, Director of Tri Tinh Company Limited (Trung Hung Commune, Can Tho City), said that the enterprise specializes in rice grinding with a capacity of about 560 tons/day. However, the 5% value-added tax and the tax refund procedure after export cause difficulties for businesses. Therefore, the company is forced to lower the purchase price of raw materials from farmers. In addition, the amount of rice in inventory increased while the export market encountered difficulties, causing businesses to lack capital to buy temporary storage, limiting business activities.
According to the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City, since the beginning of the year, the city has exported more than 1.2 million tons of rice, reaching a turnover of nearly 600 million USD. Currently, there are 34 enterprises participating in rice production and export, mainly focusing on major markets such as the Philippines, Malaysia, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, China, Qatar, etc. However, exports in recent days have shown signs of slowing down.
Mr. Hua Truong Son - Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City said that the traditional market of Vietnamese rice in the Philippines has temporarily stopped importing for 60 days from September 1. Indonesia also temporarily suspended imports to prioritize the use of national reserve rice. In addition, increasingly high competition from Thailand and India has reduced the advantage of Vietnamese enterprises, causing domestic rice prices to decrease.
Promoting linkages, enhancing the value of exported rice grains
The leader of the Department of Industry and Trade of Can Tho City said that the Department is actively coordinating with functional agencies to support businesses, in which it has directed the Import-Export Management Department to closely coordinate with Vietnamese trade associations, departments and trade promotion abroad to grasp market developments, thereby proposing solutions to support businesses.
In the long term, the Department encourages businesses and farmers to increase the value of rice grains, focus on building brands, gradually conquering demanding markets such as Japan to diversify output and improve the sustainability of the industry.
On September 4, the leaders of Can Tho city and departments and branches directly worked with rice enterprises in the area to listen and resolve difficulties. Recommendations beyond its authority have been compiled and reported to the National Assembly and the Government for timely support consideration.
Vice Chairman of Can Tho City People's Committee Tran Chi Hung informed that Can Tho is the locality with the second largest rice area and output in the country, with about 390,000 hectares of production, yielding 4.6 million tons of rice, equivalent to 3 million tons of rice. In the coming time, the city will continue to promote linkages between businesses, cooperatives and farmers; at the same time, invest in infrastructure, equipment and science and technology transfer, to reduce production costs, increase profits, contribute to stabilizing the rice industry and maintaining export growth.
