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Fruit production plunges, prices to rise
With unfavorable weather reducing fruit harvest by 50-80 percent in the Mekong Delta this season, the prices of many popular fruits are set to rise during Tet.
Mangoes, pomelos, and mandarins are all expected to be in short supply during the festival in February.
In Dong Thap Province’s Cao Lanh District, the main mango-growing area, many farmers are suffering their worst-ever harvest.
Vo Viet Hung of My Xuong Commune said the yield this season has been just 10-15 percent of the previous one’s.
In the Hoa Loc mango-growing area in Tien Giang Province, Huynh Van Het said he had 60 mango trees but only a few bloomed.
“I harvested 15-16 tons of mangos last time but this year the output could be just 200-300 kg.”
He blamed it on the prolonged rains followed by hot weather and rather high difference between day and night temperatures which caused the fruits to dry up and die before maturing.
Luu Van Rang, a mandarin grower in Lai Vung District, Dong Thap, said output was just around eight tons from his 0.8-hectare garden compared to 27 tons last year.
Mai Quoc Hau, head of the district Agriculture and Rural Development Department, said 1,475 hectares of land are under sweet and pink mandarin, but because of the bad weather harvest during Tet will fall by 30-50 percent.
In Ben Tre Province, the land of the green-skinned pomelo, output is expected to be down by half.
Price to go up
As a result of the poor harvests, fruit prices have already begun to rise in some provinces.
Wholesale traders in Dong Thap have agreed to buy Lai Vung pink mandarin for VND16,000-20,000 per kilogram, VND7,000 higher than last year.
In Tien Giang, Hoa Loc mango farmers are likely to get VND70,000 per kilogram compared to VND50,000 last year.
Huynh Thanh Son, Deputy Head of the Cao Lanh District Agriculture and Rural Development, said mango prices have risen and will continue to do so since Tet is approaching.
Pomelo prices are also forecast to go up. Dam Van Hung, a trader in Ben Tre, said he bought the fruit for VND30,000 per kilogram.
The province, with nearly 3,000 hectares under pomelo, leads the country in growing green-skinned pomelo. Thus, the poor harvest here means an increase in price is inevitable, said a local official.
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