Mekong Delta summer-autumn rice: yield, output and selling price drop

According to a quick report by the Working Group 970 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development at the online meeting on the morning of August 7th regarding the situation of rice production and consumption in the Mekong Delta, currently. 702 thousand ha of summer-autumn rice have been harvested, nearly 123.3 thousand ha lower than the same period last year; productivity reached 57.86 quintals/ha, 0.97 quintals/ha lower than the same period last year; output reached 4,059 thousand tons, 793 thousand tons lower in comparison to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, in the Mekong Delta, in regard to autumn-winter rice, seeds have been sown in 365,239 ha, reaching 53.32% of the plan and is 15,557 ha less than the same period last year.

The autumn-winter rice is sown slower compared to the same period last year due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, resulting in the harvest of summer-autumn rice being delayed, affecting the sowing progress of autumn-winter rice. On the other hand, seed transport vehicles can not circulate through the provinces due to the implementation of Directive 16, also affecting the sowing process.

In regard to prices, according to the Vietnam Food Association's estimate, in the past few weeks, the price of ordinary rice in the field decreased by an average of VND 133, currently only about VND 5,000/kg; the price of ordinary rice at the warehouse increased slightly by VND 40. Due to difficulties in moving for purchases between localities, many businesses have stopped buying rice.

As assessed by the Working Group 970, at present, the price of rice and other agricultural products has dropped deeply, not because of supply and demand but the serious disruption in the supply chain. International customers still have demand to import Vietnamese rice, but businesses can't make the deliveries.

To solve the urgent issues mentioned above, the Working Group has made a number of recommendations. In the immediate future, priorities should be given to vaccinating forces in the supply chain: drivers, boats, shipping barges, workers at factories, loaders and unloaders at ports; carry out goods inspection, disinfection, import and export forwarding personnel of export companies having to deal with documents at many places such as ports, Customs, C/O office, quarantine areas... After that, facilitate travel for the personnel during the distance because this force is maintaining exports for the whole country.

It is recommendable to include research on tax support and fees for businesses during the epidemic. At present, enterprises hold themselves responsible for all the costs for quick testing and PCR, meals and accommodation costs for on-site employees.

In addition, the Working Group suggests that new regulations of the competent authorities, if any, must follow a schedule, avoiding abruptness because businesses cannot respond in time, especially the shipments are on the way and will soon solve the traffic for goods and help means of transport circulate, avoiding disruption of the supply chain.