Yellow rice boat longan in Xuyen Moc district is in the harvest season, the price is only 1/3 of previous years but cannot be sold due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic.

According to statistics from the People's Committee of Xuyen Moc district, the whole district currently has more than 1,290 tons of yellow rice boat longan and 100 tons of cinnamon longan that have not found a source of consumption. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, the consumption of longan in the district is facing many difficulties.

The selling price is 1/3 but no one is buying

According to the reflection of Xuyen Moc people, yellow rice boat longan is in the harvest season but the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic has caused the product to be "stuck". The price of yellow rice boat longan has dropped to only 15,000 VND/kg; while cinnamon longan is priced at 8,000 VND/kg. This price is only 1/3 compared to previous years.

Mr. Tran Van Xuyen (residing in Phu Lam hamlet, Hoa Hiep commune) said that both longan growers and traders are facing many difficulties in transporting, purchasing and finding sources of longan consumption.

Currently, in Phu Lam hamlet, there are more than 300 hectares of longan in the harvest season, but due to the complicated developments of the COVID-19 epidemic in the locality, most of the longan is "hanging" on the trees waiting for traders to buy. Since the beginning of the season, people in Phu Lam hamlet have only sold about 100 tons of longan, the remaining more than 400 tons are stuck, it is highly likely that people are not harvesting because they cannot find an outlet.

Also in the same situation as Mr. Xuyen, Mr. Le Van Nhan (residing in Phu Lam hamlet, Phu Hiep commune) sadly said that all his family's capital was invested in the longan garden. Currently, the garden has more than 10 tons of longan that needs to be sold, but the price is too low, if he accepts to sell, it will be considered a loss. To survive, Mr. Dong only sells a few longan in the garden every day to get some money to cover living expenses for his family.

"I have contacted many traders to buy, but the situation has not improved. In this area, there are many households like me, just crying and waiting for the epidemic to pass so that they can call for "rescue" of the remaining longan in the garden," Mr. Nhan said.

Traders also face difficulties

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, a fruit trader, said that purchasing and transporting longan is very difficult due to lack of labor and high transportation costs. First, there is not enough labor, and then the transportation costs are too high. Transporting and completing procedures at epidemic control checkpoints is very time consuming.

In particular, both farmers and traders limit contact with each other. Many gardeners, when they see traders coming to buy, are afraid of infection and refuse to sell, accepting the loss.

Like Ms. Hong, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong in Xuyen Moc district said that in addition to transportation costs, longan purchasing points in the city often force down prices, making "garden traders" like her discouraged and not wanting to buy anything more.

"Recently, I also went to rescue dragon fruit, but traders in Ho Chi Minh City offered too low a price, so the last few tons of dragon fruit were only fed to cows and could not be sold. Now, if I ask for more longan rescue and accept losses, I cannot do it," said Ms. Phuong.

Regarding the above situation, on the afternoon of July 23, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Xuyen Moc district, signed a document to the Farmers' Association, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and businesses and cooperatives in the area, requesting support and connections to consume the above fruits. This document clearly states that relevant authorities need to increase support for farmers in consuming longan.

Responding to VTC News, Mr. Duong Tan Linh, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Xuyen Moc district, said: "Immediately after the locality called on businesses to 'rescue' agricultural products for the people, a number of supermarket systems in the area agreed to purchase. However, most of these units require high product standards, and most longan gardens in the area do not meet quality standards. Therefore, this is a relatively difficult problem for the locality."

According to Mr. Linh, the Farmers' Association of Xuyen Moc district is still actively looking for many solutions to support people. The complicated development of the epidemic is something no one wants, the Farmers' Association of Xuyen Moc district hopes that farmers will stay calm and find solutions to sell longan instead of falling into a situation of prolonged losses and losing all their business capital.