Big harvests, high prices of crops benefit farmers

Hoang, a ginger farmer in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, said he recently harvested a bumper crop even as prices in the market doubled from a year ago to VND24,000-26,000 (US$0.98-1.07) per kilogram."A hectare of ginger fetched us a profit of VND100-120 million."

Durian at a garden in the southern Can Tho City. Photo by Manh Khuong

Sweet potato prices surged to VND18,000-20,000 per kilogram. According to farmers in the two Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai and Dak Lak, they earned VND100-200 million per hectare.

Durian prices at the farm currently stand at VND45,000-90,000 per kilogram after doubling from a year ago. In February they had soared to a record VND200,000.

Bui Van Cuong of Dak Lak said his three hectares of durian this year fetched him a profit of VND5 billion, the highest ever.

Skyrocketing sugarcane and paddy prices have also fetched record incomes.

Sugarcane is at VND1.2-1.3 million per ton, and rice at VND8,000-9,000 per kilogram, the latter enabling farmers to reap profits of VND50-70 million per hectare.

Thanh Mai, an agricultural trader in the Central Highlands provinces, told VnExpress that the lives of farmers have changed this year thanks to good harvests and high prices.

Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, said: "This year is a big win for Vietnamese fruits and vegetables," mainly due to the signing of a series of agreements with China for exporting farm produce, including durian, banana and sweet potato through official quotas and not just informal border trade.

Vietnamese fruit and vegetable exports could exceed $5 billion this year, he said.

The country will continue to negotiate for more agricultural products, including watermelon, to be exported to China through official quotas and complete procedures for passion fruit to be exported the U.S. this year.

Fruit and vegetable exports fetched $4.2 billion in the first nine months of the year, a year-on-year rise of 71.8%, with durian, banana, jackfruit, longan, and watermelon increasing by up to four times.