With fruits flying off the shelves despite higher prices ahead of Tet (the Lunar New Year), Mekong Delta farmers have been laughing all the way to the bank.
The prices of mandarins, mangoes, grapefruits, and sugar apples have been up 10-40 percent since last week.
A kilogram of “hong” mandarin costs VND22,000-30,000, VND5,000-10,000 higher than last week, in Can Tho city.
Nam Roi, a premium grapefruit variety, has gone up by VND3,000 a kilogram to VND10,000 while Thai rambutans, “Duong” mandarins, oranges, and dragon fruits too are all up.
As Tet nears, demand for fruits continues to rise, meaning their prices are likely to go up even further.
Huynh Thanh Sang, deputy head of the Hoa Loc Sweet Mango Co-operative in Tien Giang Province’s Cai Be District, said orders were placed a month ago for 400 tons of fruits grown by members at an average price of VND25 million a ton.
At this price, farmers would earn a profit of VND70-80 million (US$3,800-4,300) per hectare, he said.
The cooperative has also signed a contract to export 100 tons to Japan and has delivered 30 tons ahead of Tet, he added.
Top grade “Lo Ren” star apple now sells at VND34,000 a kilogram, up VND2,000 from last weekend in Tien Giang Province’s Chau Thanh District but supply is well short of demand.
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