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Selling rice cheaply, farmers call for help
The Government has instructed enterprises to purchase rice from farmers at the prices which can ensure profit for farmers. However, farmers complain that the rice prices are too low with which they cannot make profit.
Farmers cry about low prices
According to Pham Van Bay, Chairman the Vietnam Food Association (VFA), in implementing the Government’s instruction to buy rice to store up, 48 enterprises have collected 216,000 tons of rice since July 15. Five commercial banks have disbursed enough capital to purchase one million tons of rice.
“We are purchasing rice at 3,600 dong per kilo for normal rice and at least 3,800 dong per kilo for high quality rice. We dare not say that with the prices, farmers will get the profit of 30 percent as expected, but we are sure that with the prices, they can make profit,” Bay said.
However, farmers do not think so. According to Pham Thi Hoa, Deputy Director of the An Giang province’s Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, An Giang’s farmers have harvested the summer-autumn crop on 156,0000 hectares with the average yield of five tons per hectare.
As the average yield is low, the production cost is high at 3,853 dong per kilo. Meanwhile, enterprises are collecting rice at 3,800-4,050 dong per kilo for high quality rice and 3,200 dong per kilo only for IR50404 rice.
“With such prices, farmers would get a break even if they cultivate high quality rice, while they would surely take a loss if they have normal rice,” Hoa said.
According to Nguoi lao dong newspaper, in many localities, farmers still cannot sell the summer-autumn crop rice. Nguyen Van The, a farmer in Can Dang commune, Chau Thanh District in An Giang province, said that his rice has been left unsold for the last half a month.
“I have OM4218 rice which can meet the requirements for export. Intermediary merchants want to purchase the rice at 3,800 dong per kilo. With this price, one would break even if he cultivates on his own field. However, I have to lease the field, and I have to pay leasing fee, so I will take a heavy loss if I sell rice at that price,” The said
Nguyen Van Tam in Binh Phu Commune, Tan Hong District in Dong Thap province, also said that he has OM4218 rice. Right after he harvested the rice, intermediate merchants came and asked to buy rice at 3,700 dong per kilo. He refused to sell rice at this price. Now the price has dropped to 3,500 dong per kilo, and it is very difficult to find buyers.
Farmers call for help
Nguyen Van Hieu, Deputy Director of the Dong Thap province’s Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, said that farmers in the province are facing big difficulties because of the high production cost, while the rice price has been sliding.
Tran Quang Cui, Deputy Director of the Kien Giang province’s Department for Agriculture and Rural Development said the Government should give direct support to farmers or freeze farmers’ debts at banks so farmers do not have to bargain away rice at this moment.
Cui has also asked VFA to increase the volume of rice it plans to purchase in the province and increase the targeted volume of export. The total rice output in the province is about one million tons, while enterprises are going to purchase 180,000 tons only, which means that there will be a big inventory volume.
According to Pham Thi Hoa from An Giang agriculture department, the Prime Minister told VFA to purchase rice from farmers at the prices which ensure the profit of 30 percent for farmers. However, Government agencies have not defined the production costs, while telling different localities to set different production costs themselves. While the production costs differ in different localities, the rice purchase price is nearly the same for all localtities.
“While the production cost in Can Tho is 2,900 dong per kilo only, the production cost in An Giang is 3,853 dong per kilo. With production costs, farmers in Can Tho would get profit if they sell rice at 3,800 dong per kilo, while farmers in An Giang province would not get profit,” she said.
vietnamnet, NLD
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