Ms. Do Thi Muoi - owner of a dragon fruit garden with about 600 pillars - said that from the beginning of May to now, dragon fruit prices have fluctuated sharply in the direction of a sharp decrease. Currently, type 1 white flesh dragon fruit is purchased by traders for about 5,500 - 8,000 VND/kg for beautiful fruits and satisfactory designs. Meanwhile, type 2 goods are only about 3,000 - 6,000 VND/kg but are still difficult to sell.
According to Ms. Muoi, the current price has decreased by about 50 - 70% compared to the beginning of the year, depending on the type and quality of the fruit.
The price of white-flesh dragon fruit must reach about 10,000 VND/kg for growers to cover the costs of fertilizer, electricity for lighting and watering" - Ms. Muoi shared.
Many gardeners said that the investment cost for dragon fruit is currently quite high, from fertilizers, pesticides to care labor. Meanwhile, selling prices are low, causing many households to only recover a part of their capital, even losing money if the output is not achieved.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Khanh - a dragon fruit trader in Ham Kiem commune, Lam Dong province - said that the reason for the sharp price decrease is that many growing areas are entering the peak harvest season, leading to a sudden increase in supply.
This time is also the harvest season for many other fruits such as durian, mangosteen, lychee, so dragon fruit purchasing power in the domestic market is significantly shared.
White-flesh dragon fruit, a large, beautiful fruit, I buy at the garden for about 8,000 VND/kg, including cutting and transportation costs. Lower quality batches are only about 4,000 VND/kg. Red-flesh dragon fruit still maintains a better price because domestic consumption and export are more favorable" - Mr. Khanh said.
According to Mr. Huynh Canh - Chairman of Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association, the deep price drop mainly stems from oversupply. Domestic dragon fruit consumption is currently quite abundant, while export activities have not shown much recovery.
In addition, from May to about November every year, Chinese dragon fruit also enters the harvest season, increasing competitive pressure in the export market.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Lam Dong province, the old Binh Thuan area is currently the largest dragon fruit growing area in the country with about 26,000ha, with an output of about 500,000 tons/year.
In the production structure, white flesh dragon fruit still accounts for about 65% of the area due to suitable farming conditions and stable output. However, in recent years, many localities have expanded the area of red and pink-purple flesh dragon fruit, currently accounting for about 35%, in order to meet consumer demand and target high-end markets.
The local agricultural sector is encouraging farmers to improve product quality, apply quality certification standards (VietGAP, GlobalGAP, organic...) for production, expand consumption links and diversify export markets to reduce dependence on some traditional markets, and limit price drops when entering the concentrated harvest season.
