Farmers profit VND 15 million/ha from the summer-autumn rice harvest

This year's summer-autumn rice crop has a yield of 5,000-6,500 kg/ha, selling at VND 5,300 - 5,800/kg, after deducting costs, farmers earn about VND 10 - 15 million/ha.

In the 2021 summer-autumn crop, farmers in the city of Can Tho have sown more than 75,000 hectares of rice, which is 4.1% higher than the initial plan. It is currently the time for Thoi Lai, Co Do and Vinh Thanh districts to start their harvest.

As the Covid-19 epidemic partly holds responsible for affecting the price of rice in the market, the profit earned from this harvest has been less in comparison to the same period last year. Although it is just the beginning of the harvest season, the price of rice in Can Tho city is having a tendency to decrease.

Fresh rice purchased by traders at the field has its price ranged from VND 5,300 to 5,800/kg, down VND 350 to 800/kg compared to the previous deposit price (depending on the variety). There are even cases where traders cancel the deposit and withdraw their purchase due to the decrease in the price of rice.

In regard to the production process during this year's summer-autumn crop, a lot of farmers in Can Tho city said that it was not as favorable as in the years before since the price of materials has increased, especially the price of fertilizer.

To be more specific, the price of urea, DAP and NPK fertilizers in Can Tho city and other provinces in the Cuu Long Delta region had increased about VND 50,000 - 250,000/bag compared to the end of 2020, which is the highest record in many years. Pesticides also increased by VND 20,000 - 30,000/bottle depending on the type.

Not only that, diseases and pests on rice such as yellow leaves, leaf rollers, cotton-neck blasts, spider mites also appear more frequently. This makes rice plants unable to grow as well as they normally did every year, causing yield and selling price to be affected at the end of the crop.

In Thanh Thang commune, Vinh Thanh district, Can Tho city, several farmers shared that the rice yield is only about 5,000 - 6,500 kg/ha, and the price of fresh rice they sell to traders is VND 5,800/kg at the moment. After having deducted all the costs, the profit is about VND 15 million/ha, a drop of about VND 6,000,000 - 7,000,000 VND/ha in comparison to last year's summer-autumn crop.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Can Tho city, the summer-autumn rice of this city is expected to be harvested in the middle of July. The structure of high-quality rice varieties that farmers focus on cultivating includes OM 5451, OM 18, OM 4218,... Among them, there exists IR 50404 variety, a low-grade rice variety, accounting for only 9.5% of the total sowing area.