Litchis sold dirt cheap due to Chinese dependence
The bumper litchi harvest in Luc Ngan District of the northern Bac Giang Province this year does not mean profits to farmers as prices have slumped due to farmers’ heavy dependence on Chinese traders for output.
Litchi nuts in Luc Ngan now fetch only VND5,000 a kg, a price which Le Thi Lieu, a farmer in Phuong Son Commune, said is only enough to buy two glasses of ice tea from the street vendors.
“The price has dramatically dropped from VND13,000 a kg last year,” she lamented.
With such throwaway price, some farmers have opted to dry their litchis and export them to China instead of selling the fresh fruits to traders, mostly Chinese.
Pham Van Tu of Hong Giang Commune has built a litchi drying facility in his garden which could produce one ton of dried litchis from 3 tons of the fresh fruits every day.
Besides using his own fruits, Tu has also bought fresh litchis from other farmers at VND4,000 a kg.
Since dried litchis cost VND25-30,000 a kg in China, Tu says he earns VND25-30 million everyday.
“After subtracting VND10-12 million for buying fresh litchis, I’m earning better with dried litchis than with the fresh one,” he said.
Chu Van Bao, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Office, said farmers in Luc Ngan heavily rely on the Chinese market for their litchi outputs.
He said Chinese traders would buy 60 percent of the 100,000 tons of litchi harvested in Luc Ngan this year.
They would come to buy directly from farmers at their gardens, and only choose the best products, he said.
Hai Bich, a mediator for Chinese traders, said that farmers cannot decide the price.
“The Chinese traders always bargain with farmers, and manage to buy at dirt cheap prices,” she said.
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The bumper litchi harvest in Luc Ngan District of the northern Bac Giang Province this year does not mean profits to farmers as prices have slumped due to farmers’ heavy dependence on Chinese traders for output.
Litchi nuts in Luc Ngan now fetch only VND5,000 a kg, a price which Le Thi Lieu, a farmer in Phuong Son Commune, said is only enough to buy two glasses of ice tea from the street vendors.
“The price has dramatically dropped from VND13,000 a kg last year,” she lamented.
With such throwaway price, some farmers have opted to dry their litchis and export them to China instead of selling the fresh fruits to traders, mostly Chinese.
Pham Van Tu of Hong Giang Commune has built a litchi drying facility in his garden which could produce one ton of dried litchis from 3 tons of the fresh fruits every day.
Besides using his own fruits, Tu has also bought fresh litchis from other farmers at VND4,000 a kg.
Since dried litchis cost VND25-30,000 a kg in China, Tu says he earns VND25-30 million everyday.
“After subtracting VND10-12 million for buying fresh litchis, I’m earning better with dried litchis than with the fresh one,” he said.
Chu Van Bao, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Office, said farmers in Luc Ngan heavily rely on the Chinese market for their litchi outputs.
He said Chinese traders would buy 60 percent of the 100,000 tons of litchi harvested in Luc Ngan this year.
They would come to buy directly from farmers at their gardens, and only choose the best products, he said.
Hai Bich, a mediator for Chinese traders, said that farmers cannot decide the price.
“The Chinese traders always bargain with farmers, and manage to buy at dirt cheap prices,” she said.
Litchi nuts in Luc Ngan now fetch only VND5,000 a kg, a price which Le Thi Lieu, a farmer in Phuong Son Commune, said is only enough to buy two glasses of ice tea from the street vendors.
“The price has dramatically dropped from VND13,000 a kg last year,” she lamented.
With such throwaway price, some farmers have opted to dry their litchis and export them to China instead of selling the fresh fruits to traders, mostly Chinese.
Pham Van Tu of Hong Giang Commune has built a litchi drying facility in his garden which could produce one ton of dried litchis from 3 tons of the fresh fruits every day.
Besides using his own fruits, Tu has also bought fresh litchis from other farmers at VND4,000 a kg.
Since dried litchis cost VND25-30,000 a kg in China, Tu says he earns VND25-30 million everyday.
“After subtracting VND10-12 million for buying fresh litchis, I’m earning better with dried litchis than with the fresh one,” he said.
Chu Van Bao, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Office, said farmers in Luc Ngan heavily rely on the Chinese market for their litchi outputs.
He said Chinese traders would buy 60 percent of the 100,000 tons of litchi harvested in Luc Ngan this year.
They would come to buy directly from farmers at their gardens, and only choose the best products, he said.
Hai Bich, a mediator for Chinese traders, said that farmers cannot decide the price.
“The Chinese traders always bargain with farmers, and manage to buy at dirt cheap prices,” she said.
