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Delta rice remains unsold despite low price
Farmers in the Mekong Delta have harvested nearly 100,000 of 1.5 million hectares of rice fields, but they have failed to sell as prices have tumbled.
In Dong Thap Province, one of first places to harvest their summer-autumn rice crops, farmers are concerned as even though rice prices have plunged, they are still unable to sell.
Farmer Nguyen Van Ta from Lap Vo District said that he had just harvested two hectares of the IR50404 rice variety with a rather high output of 6.5 tons per hectare.
Within one week, prices fell from VND4,200 to just VND3,600 a kilogram, which could not yield a profit for farmers, and no traders have come to buy, Ta said.
In Hong Ngu District, farmers have harvested 1,000 out of 11,700 hectares of rice already, but they too have gone unsold.
A host of farmers are willing to sell at VND3,400 a kilogram but no one buys, Nguyen Van Buon, deputy head of the district Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said.
July, the peak summer-autumn rice harvest, usually sees continuous rains. If farmers do not sell their crops soon, the rice will become damp and moldy, Mr.Buon warned.
The rice prices in Tan Hong District are even lower than that of Hong Ngu District, from VND100-200 a kilogram, as the cultivating areas are much wider.
Nguyen Van Dong, Director of the province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development expressed concern that in spite of low prices, demand remains even lower. A kilogram of rice now can now be had for just VND3,500 a kilogram.
According to the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, the delta now has two million of tons of rice stockpiled, with farmers only possessing the ability to preserve it for about two more months.
On a brighter note, institute head Dr. Le Van Banh has forecasted that world demand for rice will skyrocket in 2010. As a result, farmers should focus on preserving their stockpiles and wait for prices to go up before selling.
Huy Phong – Nguyen Mien
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