Sugarcane is mainly purchased to make sugarcane juice, so sugar refineries face more and more difficulties in maintaining the sugarcane material growing area. Not to mention that growing sugarcane to make juice has a shorter ripening time than growing sugarcane to sell to sugar refineries.
Although regretting a little for selling sugarcane early, Ly Hoang Ngoan, a farmer in Hiep Hung Commune in Phung Hiep District, is still happy.
"I earn more profits by selling sugarcane in dozens than selling to sugar refineries. Sugar refineries buy sugarcane at VND1,200-VND1,300 per kg, but the labor cost accounts for VND200-VND300 per kg. Meanwhile, when selling sugarcane in dozens, I do not have to spend money because traders hire workers to harvest," he said.
Ngoan has just sold 1,500 square meters of Roc 16 sugarcane to make sugarcane juice, earning more than VND37 million. After deducting all expenses, he still gets a profit of more than VND15 million.
The sugarcane areas in the Mekong Delta, especially in Long An, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Ben Tre provinces, are seriously decreasing, causing the raw material growing area more vulnerable than ever. Nearly 10,000 hectares of sugarcane in the Mekong Delta have been erased within the last five years. For instance, the sugarcane area in Tra Cu District in Tra Vinh Province has been reduced from 4,200 hectares to 800 hectares. It has caused many sugar refineries in the Mekong Delta to shut down.
According to the Vietnam Sugarcane and Sugar Association, the country's average raw sugarcane output in the past three crops dropped by 44.76 percent, from 12.2 million tons to 7.66 million tons. In the Mekong Delta alone, sugarcane production fell by 81.83 percent. Moreover, domestic sugar prices cannot compete with imported sugar from ASEAN countries.
From mid-June 2021, when the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued Decision No.1578/QD-BCT on the application of official anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures on cane sugar originating from Thailand, domestic sugar prices have gradually surged to VND17,000-VND18,000 per kg from VND13,000-VND14,000 per kg.
However, some sugar refineries in the Mekong Delta only buy sugarcane for about VND1,200 per kg upwards. As the sugarcane crop 2022-2023 is about to start, farmers in three main sugarcane material regions, namely Hau Giang, Soc Trang, and Tra Vinh, are waiting for reasonable sugarcane buying prices from refineries. Leaders of Hau Giang Province suggested sugar refineries have a long-term development strategy for sugarcane growing areas, as well as policies for sugarcane farmers. Harmonizing the interests of farmers, businesses, and laborers is necessary. Only when farmers see the benefits can they feel assured to maintain the sugarcane growing area.
