"More than gold" fluctuations
Although it has just entered the early season, the durian market in the West has recorded strong price decreases. Continuous price fluctuations not only make gardeners lose the usual excitement at the beginning of the season.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Anh's family in Dai Hai commune (Can Tho city), formerly Ba Trinh commune (Ke Sach district, Soc Trang province), currently has about 4,000 m2 of Thai durian for early fruit. He has just harvested about 2.5 tons, which traders have purchased at a whopping price of 65,000 VND/kg.
Mr. Hoang Anh said that more than 10 days ago, the price of Thai durian was at 110,000 VND/kg but by the harvest time it had dropped sharply. Compared to the beginning of last year's crop, which reached 160,000 VND/kg, the current price is only equal to the same as previous crops. "A few years ago, durian prices were very high, everyone was excited. Since the beginning of the year, prices have remained low. With the current price, after deducting expenses, my family does not have much profit," said Mr. Hoang Anh.
Mr. Huynh Thanh Le - Director of Trinh Loi Agricultural Cooperative, Dai Hai Commune (Can Tho City) said that during the peak period at the beginning of the 2022 - 2023 crop, durian prices gradually skyrocketed to 190,000 - 220,000 VND/kg, or at the beginning of last year's crop, they still maintained 145,000 - 165,000 VND/kg, the current price is much lower. " prices increase slowly, but when they decrease, they can drop 20,000 - 30,000 VND in just one day, fluctuating more than gold prices," Mr. Le commented.
Mr. Le Van Phuoc Lac - Director of Phu An Agricultural Service Cooperative, Binh Phu Commune (Dong Thap Province) informed that the cooperative currently has 410 hectares of durian that have been granted a growing area code for export. Currently, the purchase price of Ri6 durian in the garden is 40,000 VND/kg, while Thai durian is priced at about 80,000 VND/kg.
"Since China tightened standards, purchasing enterprises have been more cautious and have had more stringent requirements on traceability and growing area codes. The cooperative has made efforts to meet the requirements, but the enterprise is still concerned about risks and does not want to sign a long-term contract," Mr. Lac shared.
A trader in Nga Bay ward (Can Tho city) said that Thai A durian is bought in the garden for about 110,000 - 115,000 VND/kg but currently only about 85,000 VND/kg. The reason for the price reduction is that some Cadimi and Vang O testing rooms have temporarily stopped operating and some shipments have not passed the test, causing difficulties for export businesses. "There are cases where garden deposits have been deposited but when the harvest day comes, they have to collect retail fruits or ask farmers to reduce prices according to the market," this person said.
Increased costs, high risks for early harvests
According to Mr. Hoang Anh, the treatment of trees that bear fruit early this year has unfavorable weather, prolonged rain during the flowering period, causing the fruit set rate to be low. The cost of early crop production has therefore increased to about 32,000 VND/kg, nearly 10,000 VND/kg higher than the favorable crop. "The waiting time for harvest is long, there is a lot of care and hiring, so with the current selling price, the profit is not significant," he said.
Mr. Huynh Thanh Le said that the area of durian processed early by the cooperative in this crop is quite large but the success rate is not uniform. According to him, processing early flowering in the 5th - 7th lunar month gives a high rate of fruit set, while from August to September there is a great risk; in October the trees produce natural fruit, which is difficult to control.
To adapt to market fluctuations, Mr. Le said that the cooperative is focusing on building a sustainable production platform to meet the demand for official exports. "We plan to invite experts from Can Tho University to support and guide Cadimi prevention measures. Durian is considered a "billion-dollar tree", if not controlled well, the risk of losing the export market is very high", Mr. Le worried.
Farmer Nguyen Hoang Anh recommends testing Cadimi right at the warehouse; if it meets the standards, it will be allowed to be exported, without having to wait until the border gate clearance step, to avoid congestion.
Can Tho City currently has about 13,000 hectares of durian, of which more than 500 growing area codes have been granted, with a total area of over 9,300 hectares. In the coming time, the agricultural sector will continue to inform and guide farmers to implement export standards, to ensure requirements on food safety and plant quarantine.
