Farmers are happy due to high price of winter-spring rice crop

Yields reach 80 quintals/ha, priced at VND 10,000/kg

In late April, Phu Yen farmers are bustling with the harvest of the 2023-2024 winter-spring rice crop. Early in the morning, in the nearly 10-ha field in Quang Hung village, Hoa Quang Nam commune (Phu Hoa district), many combined harvesters are diligently harvesting ripe rice fields.

The seasonal joy of the local farmers is amplified as rice prices are higher than last year.

Mr Phan Van Lang in Quang Hung village enthusiastically stated: "This year's winter-spring rice crop has been successful for most local farmers in terms of both yield and price. Accordingly, the rice yield is about 80 quintals/ha. With the current price of fresh rice being bought at VND 8,500/kg, after deducting expenses, farmers profit 40 - 50%."

According to Mr Pham Tan Tho, Director of Hoa Hoi Agricultural Services Cooperative (Phu Hoa district), this year's winter-spring crop has seen high yields for all rice varieties in the area, sparking excitement among farmers. At the cooperative, 100% of the rice fields have been harvested so far, with yields exceeding 80 quintals/ha. Each ton of fresh rice is purchased by traders at a price of VND 850,000.

Also, according to Mr. Tho, in previous rice harvests, prices often dropped after the season, but this time, with both good yields and high prices, everyone is happy and motivated to continue farming.

In Tay Hoa district, the atmosphere of harvesting rice in the winter-spring season is also bustling in the fields. Mr. Huynh Van Kha in Phuoc Nong village, Hoa Binh I commune, said that his family just harvested 7 Sao of rice (3,500m2). Thanks to favourable weather and proper irrigation, focusing on disease prevention, the average yield reached 400 - 420kg/Sao, an increase of over 50kg/Sao compared to last winter-spring season.

This year's winter-spring rice crop in Phu Yen province mainly consists of high-yield, good-quality varieties such as fragrant Dai 8, Bac Thinh, BDR999, BDR27, Ha Phat 3, PY10, DV108, OM269-65. Currently, rice prices are fluctuating between VND 8,000 and VND 10,000/kg (depending on the variety), increasing by VND 1,500 - VND 2,000/kg compared to the same period last year.

Mr Nguyen Van Tien in Hoa Hiep Bac ward (Dong Hoa town) said that Dai Thom 8 rice is currently being purchased at around VND 10,000/kg, an unprecedentedly high price. He hopes that the price will not fluctuate much in the coming weeks for smooth selling after his family finishes harvesting rice.

Investment costs have significantly decreased

Due to favourable weather conditions, easy harvesting and drying of rice are enabled. 

In Dong Hoa town, farmers have harvested over 1,500 ha of rice fields. According to farmers, due to the favourable weather, rice does not fall down, so the rental price for harvesting machines has not increased (about VND 120,000/Sao), which is only one-third of the cost of hiring labour for manual harvesting in the past. Therefore, farmers estimate that the investment cost for this crop has significantly decreased compared to previous seasons.

Mr Nguyen Van Minh, Head of the Crop Production and Plant Protection Sub-department in Phu Yen province, stated that in the winter-spring crop of 2023-2024, the province planted over 26,630 ha of rice, exceeding the plan by 0.5%. Despite the initial impact of the rain from December 25 to 31, which caused some newly planted rice areas to be flooded and had to be replanted, the overall weather situation for this winter-spring crop has been relatively favourable. Localities have also reviewed areas susceptible to water shortage to implement crop structure conversion, while enhancing guidance on water regulation to prevent drought, resulting in relatively stable rice growth and development.

Especially since the beginning of the crop, farmers in localities have continued to use certified and purebred rice varieties, accounting for over 70% of the total area, and have reduced the number of seedlings planted in an area accounting for nearly 50% of the entire province.

Furthermore, specialized agencies in localities regularly monitor and guide farmers on timely care and pest control measures, contributing to increased productivity in the winter-spring rice crop.

As of now, the entire province has harvested about 23,400 ha of winter-spring rice, with an estimated average yield of 75 quintals/ha, an increase of 1.8% compared to the previous winter-spring crop. Additionally, based on monitoring, the purchasing price of rice in localities currently ranges from VND 8,500 to VND 10,000/kg (depending on the rice variety), while during the same period last year, it was only from VND 6,500 to VND 7,000/kg. With this price level, most farmers are making considerable profits, and feeling very excited.