Ha Tinh orange price is higher compared to the same period in 2021

The weather in the mountains of Huong Khe district is cold towards the end of November, but Mr. Dinh Van Nham, Director of Khe May Long Nham Agricultural Cooperative in Huong Do commune still gets up early in the morning to 2 more workers to harvest the orange farm in preparation for the arriving traders.

Long Nham Cooperative has 30 orange growing households with a total area of ​​100 hectares. During this year harvest, 70 hectares are harvested with a yield of nearly 10 tons per hectare. Despite the unfavorable weather and some farms have a low fruiting rate, the oranges still have a high quality thanks to proper care following VietGAP standards; so they can still be sold at a profitable price. Mr. Nham said that the cooperative is currently selling at the price of 35,000 to 40,000 VND for one kilogram of grade 1 oranges, which is 5,000 to 10,000 VND higher per kilogram compared to the same period last year.

Orange farms in Vu Quang district are also approaching the concentrated harvest season. Mr. Le Doan Hung, a resident from Duc Linh commune, said that although the yield for this year is low, the quality is excellent, the fruit is golden in color, and taste is sweet.

“The selling price has been quite high since the beginning of the season, ranging from 35,000 to 40,000 VND per kilogram. Special grade oranges are even priced at 50,000 VND/kg, which is an increase of 15,000 to 20,000 VND per kilogram compared to the previous year. All of the family's oranges were purchased by traders a few months ago", Mr. Hung shared.

According to our survey, traders buy from large orange farms such as Huong Khe, Can Loc, Vu Quang, Huong Son at the price range of between 30,000 to 35,000 VND per kilogram, with certain variety of orange reaching 40,000 VND per kilogram. According to farmers, the selling price is relatively high this year and slightly better than 2021.

The increase in the price of oranges sold in the farm has made an impact on the retail market. Namely, in large markets such as Ha Tinh province market, Vuon uom market in Ha Tinh city, the price of orange ranges from 40,000 to 45,000 VND per kilogram; Specialty orange, organic orange or orange grown in large farmhouses are priced at between 50,000 to 60,000 VND per kilogram, with the highest price point being 65,000 VND per kilogram.

Ms. Huong, a small trader specializing in selling fruits on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, Ha Tinh City, said that her establishment specializes in selling Khe May oranges. She rents a truck to transport 4 quintals of Khe May oranges from Huong Khe to the market in the city on a daily basis. Oranges have entered the main season for this year but the prices are still high, so many farmers refrain from harvesting their entire farms, and choose to prune and sell the ripe oranges first. The remaining unharvested oranges will be nurtured until higher expected prices at the end of the season.

According to Ms. Huong, the high selling price has reduced the purchasing power of consumers to lower levels compared to the same period in 2021. “I could sell between 6 to 7 quintals of oranges around this time in 2021, now I can only sell between 4 to 5 quintals every day. The price is high and customers do not buy in large quantities, so we only import a moderate quantity, enough to sell for the day. We also have to balance and reduce profits to retain customers”, Huong said.

Consumption of oranges in the towns and districts is lower compared to that in the central area. According to Ms. Hoang Thi Huong, a small fruit seller at Pho Chau market, Huong Son district, customers have the habit of buying baskets of oranges as gifts around this time of the year, however, due the current high price, customers have switched to other fruits with lower prices. The number of customers buying oranges is estimated to have reduced by 15% compared to the same period in 2021. Even on the full moon days and the first lunar month, the number of customers only increased marginally.

Small traders predict that, the orange growing areas will be fully ripe in the near future, farmers will increase their harvest output, in addition to the source of oranges from other provinces, the price of oranges stabilize. In addition to demand, customers tend to buy oranges in large quantities to be used as gifts for year-end holidays, which can lead to a more active market.

Ha Tinh province has currently developed over 7,800 hectares of oranges; the harvest area accounts for more than 6,100 hectares. The harvest output in 2022 is estimated at more than 74,400 tons. With such a large output of harvested oranges, in addition to supplying the market in the province, regions with established orange brands such as Khe May, Vu Quang, etc. are aiming to sell outside the province, extending their reach to Hanoi, Saigon and major supermarket chains including Coopmart, Big C.