Ms. Nguyen Thi Ai, owner of thousands of plants in Ham Thuan Nam district, said that she had directly contacted many traders to offer the fruit for sale but they all declined. Trying to rescue the situation, Ms. Le My carried two baskets of the fruit to a buying spot in Ham Thuan Bac district but traders refused to buy there as well. After much entreating by her, they agreed to buy at the dirt cheap price of VND500 a kilogram (€0.02) because she is a frequent supplier.
Holding VND70,000 (€2.62) in her hands, Ms. My said that she had three unsold tons of dragon fruits at home. Traders have stopped buying at orchards, farmers themselves must harvest and transport fruits to buying spots for sale at very low price.
The Mekong Delta provinces of Tien Giang and Long An have fallen in the same situation. Red fresh dragon fruit fetched up to VND20,000 a kilogram last month when traders jostled to buy. Now, the price drops to VND2,000-5,000 a kilogram now but they refuse purchase. Sggpnews.org.vn reports that many households in the two provinces have been stricken.
