Pineapple, watermelon and chili growers in Vietnam are complaining about the hot weather which has forced them to work hard to water crops. Meanwhile, farm produce prices have dropped dramatically.
Nguyen Van Phoi from Hong Ngu district said two weeks ago merchants accepted to pay VND11,000-12,000 per kilo. However, the price has dropped to VND7,000 per kilo, while the demand is very weak. Some farmers in the locality are considering stopping growing chili to grow other short-day crops.
Pham Thanh Nhi, head of the Hong Ngu district’s agriculture sub-department, said chilis once climbed to the sky-high price of VND115,000 per kilo. But with the current price, farmers don’t earn enough money to hire workers to harvest.
The fruit prices have also dropped abnormally despite the hot weather. In Kien Giang, Hau Giang, VInh Long and Tien Giang, merchants only pay VND1,000-3,000 per kilo of watermelon and VND2,000-4,000 per kilo for pineapple.
1 USD =22,718.46 VND
