Tra Vinh province has a sugar cane growing area in Tra Cu district. Growing sugarcane is a traditional occupation that used to provide a stable source of income for more than 5,000 households, mainly the Khmer ethnic people in the area, which produced on a total area of over 4,000 ha. However, many production seasons have suffered heavy losses, causing this sugarcane growing area to constantly shrink. In the 2023-2024 sugarcane crop, Tra Cu district only has over 1,200 ha left.
Farmers in Tra Vinh province are currently harvesting the raw sugarcane for the 2023-2024 crop, with joy of a successful season and good prices. This is the third consecutive year that sugarcane growers have made profits after many years of continuous heavy losses.
In this crop, Tra Vinh Sugar Company purchases raw sugarcane with a sugar content of 10 from the field at a price of 1,280 VND/kg, which is 30 VND higher than the previous crop. For households that plant sugarcane and sign contracts with the company from the beginning of the crop, there is an additional 50 VND/kg support after fulfilling the contract. This is the highest price for purchasing raw sugarcane ever.
This is the third consecutive year that sugarcane growers have made profits after many years of continuous heavy losses.
Therefore, the local sugarcane growers are very excited about the high profits. In the 2023-2024 crop, there are nearly 600 households, mainly Khmer people, growing sugarcane on a total area of 524 ha; over 90% of the area has been harvested, with an average yield of more than 110 tons/ha. After deducting the investment costs, farmers achieve an average profit of 50-70 million VND/ha. This is the highest profit ever. It is expected that sugarcane-growing households will complete the harvest before the 2024 Lunar New Year. According to the prediction of the local agriculture industry, thanks to the high profits, in the next crop, sugarcane-growing households that have abandoned their land will restore production areas and develop to about 550 ha.
In Tra Vinh province, thousands of farmers specialized in growing leafy vegetables are excited due to the increased market demand in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year, causing the prices of various leafy vegetables to rise by 5,000 – 10,000 VND/kg compared to the beginning of 2024.
Mr. Thach Thanh, a leafy vegetable grower in Hoa Loi commune, Chau Thanh district, said that his family has converted 2,000 m2 of land that used to grow rice to specialize in growing leafy vegetables. In this Lunar New Year vegetable crop, he planted multiple types of vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, kale, and various herbs. Since the beginning of February, the prices of these vegetables have increased at the purchase points in Tra Vinh province, ranging from 22,000 – 25,000 VND/kg. Thanks to this, his family estimates a profit of about 30 million VND from the 2,000 m2 land in the Lunar New Year vegetable crop.
According to a survey by the Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection of Tra Vinh province, in the 2023 – 2024 Winter-Spring vegetable crop, farmers in the province have sown seeds on nearly 13,000 ha of land, of which vegetables for food purposes such as leafy vegetables, kale, red squash, watermelon, etc., account for nearly 7,600 ha, an increase of over 1,000 ha compared to the same period. The demand for leafy vegetables to serve the Lunar New Year market in 2024 is high. Many distributors and vegetable stores are increasing their purchases to supply the major markets such as Ho Chi Minh City and some provinces in the Southeast region.
There is also good news for durian farmers in specialized areas in Tien Giang province, as the price of durian is increasing strongly. In recent days, traders have been buying Mong Thong durians in gardens at prices of 160,000 – 170,000 VND/kg, and Ri6 durians have prices ranging from 125,000 – 135,000 VND/kg, the highest ever and almost triple the price compared to the same period last year. With these prices, the net profit for durian farmers per ha at the current time is estimated to be from 1.2 – 1.5 billion VND.
It is known that the price of durians is increasing strongly in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year thanks to being one of the important agricultural export items of the country in general and Tien Giang province in particular. Especially, durians are officially accepted for export to China and many countries in the world, which brings joy to farmers specializing in planting durian.
Being officially accepted for export is an advantage that helps durian become the highest income plant and has a competitive advantage locally. Therefore, there is still a lot of room for all levels, branches, and export units to explore and develop the durian specialized areas sustainably, promote agricultural – farmers – rural innovation, and improve people’s lives.
In the coming time, the Department of Industry and Trade of Tien Giang province will continue to grasp and promptly update the export situation, especially the hot developments at checkpoints such as Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, etc., to inform businesses and cooperatives. From there, it will promote agricultural exports, contribute to solving the output for fruits in general, and for special durians of Tien Giang province in particular.
