Farmers in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long have stockpiled an inventory of around 80,000 tonnes of King Oranges.
Nguyen Van Liem, deputy director of Vinh Long’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Tra On District sees the highest stockpile of King Oranges of 60,000 tonnes, followed by Tam Binh and Vung Liem districts with 10,000 tonnes each.
The King oranges in Vinh Long
The cost for growing 1,000 square metres of oranges is around VND90 million (USD3,829) compared to VND60 million (USD2,553) previously. So, if one kilo of oranges are sold for less than VND10,000, farmers will suffer losses.
"In previous years, orange prices used to rise again after the Lunar New Year or Tet. However, at this time of the year, orange prices are falling due to oversupply,” Liem added.
According to Liem, besides Vinh Long, many localities in the Mekong Delta region grow King Oranges. Meanwhile, lots of other localities such as Nghe An, Hung Yen, Lao Cai, Ha Giang and Dien Bien have also increased planting oranges.
"Currently, Vinh Long’s King oranges are mainly sold to markets in HCM City, Danang and Haiphong to make juice, not being exported because of their rough peel,” Liem added.
He advised local residents to halt the expansion of new King Orange growing areas.
At present, traders buy around 200 tonnes of King Oranges per day at the price of VND1,500-4,000 (USD0.06-0.17) per kilo.
The Vinh Long Province Farmers' Association said that they would co-operate with concerned agencies to find outlets for King Oranges.
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