In My Xuyen ward (Can Tho city), Mr. Lam Thanh Hung is trying to restore more than 500m2 of chickens to get flowers after many days of heavy rain. Previously, he collected about 20kg of chives per batch, but now there are only 8-9kg, but the flowers are not beautiful and light, the chives have yellow leaves and disease. "Dated flowers cost 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg but unfortunately there is no product to sell. If the chicken is good and the price is high, capital can still be raised," said Mr. Hung.
Mr. Hung added that his family has more than 2,000m2 of vegetables, and previously hired workers to weed and harvest by-products. However, the low yield and high labor cost (about 250,000 VND/day) forced the couple to take care of themselves: " harvesting vegetables and mustard all week only makes a few hundred thousand, hiring people is considered a profit".
Ms. Trieu Thi Nuong, a vegetable grower in My Xuyen ward (Can Tho city), said that the recent prolonged heavy rain caused more than 500m2 of her family's sweet and spinach to be waterlogged, and the plants to grow unevenly. "Normally, with this area, I collect 700 - 800kg of vegetables, but this time I tried to choose carefully but could only get about 200kg," said Ms. Nuong.
According to Ms. Nuong, due to the sharp decrease in supply due to storms and floods, many types of vegetables have increased in price by 40 - 50% compared to the same period. Specifically, sweet potato leaves are being sold for 9,000 - 10,000 VND/kg (increased by 4,000 - 5,000 VND), green onions for 25,000 - 28,000 VND/kg (increased by 7,000 - 8,000 VND) and chives for about 30,000 VND/kg.
In the same locality, Mr. Kim Hien is also urgently harvesting 2,000m2 of green onions because the trees are no longer able to grow further. According to Mr. Hien, usually each bed of onions yields about 60kg in the dry season, but now there are only 15 - 16kg left. "Heavy rain causes the leaves to flood a lot, so the onions are very light," he shared.
Meanwhile, 4,000m2 of green vegetables of Ms. Lam Thi Han's household in Tai Van commune (Can Tho city) were flooded, almost completely lost. Ms. Han said: I grow water spinach about 2,000m2 to prepare for the harvest and then the flood will reach the top. The green cabbage, squid, and freshly planted squid are all gone. Trying to pick a bowl of water spinach can only sell 6kg of water spinach, selling it for 5,000 VND/kg while the current price is up to 12,000 VND.
According to Ms. Han, the initial cost of seeds was about 5 million VND, the drainage pump cost 500,000 VND, but due to continuous pumping, the damaged machine had to be repaired by 150,000 VND. Currently, the family is improving the soil and re-sowing, however, the price of seeds has also increased by 20% - 30% compared to a few months ago, causing the cost of reproduction to increase significantly.
"To have money to reinvest, I had to borrow money from my younger brother to buy seeds and fertilizers. But it has been raining for the past few days, now hopefully this crop will not be affected," said Ms. Han.
Recorded at traditional markets in Can Tho City, many types of vegetables have increased in price by 5,000 - 20,000 VND/kg compared to before. People accept to buy at high prices but goods are still scarce.
Ms. Ly Kim Ngan, a vegetable seller in My Xuyen ward (Can Tho city), said: "The price has increased a lot since the crop. Tomatoes are 25,000 VND/kg in advance, now 35,000 - 40,000 VND. The price has increased from 10,000 VND to 20,000 VND/kg, squash has also increased similarly".
