If in previous years, the price of areca nuts at the beginning of the season fluctuated from 4,000-7,000 VND/kg, in 2024, right from the beginning of the season, the price of areca nuts was over 40,000 VND/kg and continued to increase until now. From June until now, the price of fresh areca nuts in Quang Ngai has always been high, fluctuating from 45,000-57,000 VND/kg, then increased to more than 60,000 VND/kg and continued to increase to over 83,000 VND in just half a month.
The Ca Dong people in the mountainous district of Son Tay are very happy with the high prices of areca nuts, because this is the locality with the largest areca nut growing area in Quang Ngai province, with an area of about 1,000 hectares. However, the high prices also make areca nut growers worried, because they have to set up tents to sleep overnight in the garden to prevent theft. Seeing the huge profits from areca nuts, many people have also expanded their areca nut growing area.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper reporter, Mr. Pham Hong Khuyen - Head of the Agriculture and Rural Development Division of Son Tay district said that areca nut growers have made a profit if they buy areca nut at around 10,000 VND/kg. This year, areca nut prices have increased for a long time, so in the past few months, people have expanded their areca nut growing area, but the district has not yet counted exactly how much the areca nut growing area has increased.
Nghia Hanh District is also one of the localities with a large area of areca cultivation in Quang Ngai. These days, people are also happy because the areca price has been successful. According to many people in Nghia Hanh District, the main consumer market of areca nuts is China. It is possible that this year the price of areca nuts has skyrocketed because Typhoon Yagi has severely damaged large areca growing areas in Southeast Asia, leading to a shortage of raw materials for making areca candy. Meanwhile, the Central and Central Highlands provinces in our country have not been affected by the storm, so the areca nuts have grown well, and traders are competing to buy them to export to the Chinese market.
Areca nuts are priced well, and many farmers are also expanding their planting areas. Speaking to a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Phan Cong Huan - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Nghia Hanh District - said that the district currently has over 700 hectares of areca trees, an increase of nearly 60 hectares compared to the same period in 2023. The reason for the increase in area is that the price of areca nuts purchased in gardens in recent years has always been high, so farmers have boldly increased the new planting area. Areca nut harvest in the first 6 months of 2024 is estimated at 3,150 tons, an increase of 101 tons compared to the same period last year.
Areca nut is an easy-to-grow and easy-to-care-for tree with low investment costs. It takes about 5 years for the areca nut tree to start bearing fruit. The life cycle of the areca nut tree also lasts for decades, so if the price is right, farmers will earn a very high profit compared to many other crops. However, areca nut is mainly consumed in the Chinese market, which is inherently risky due to unstable prices. Therefore, some localities do not recommend that people destroy other crops to expand the area for areca nut planting.
