Price of bananas in Mekong Delta provinces goes up

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of U Minh Thuong District in Kien Giang Province on August 19 said that in recent days, many traders have flocked to the district to buy bananas, causing the price of bananas to increase.

Traders collect bananas in the Mekong Delta. (Photo: SGGP)

At Minh Thuan and An Minh Bac communes, traders bought Pisang awak bananas at VN8,000-VND10,000 per hand of bananas at the banana plantation, an increase of VND2,000-VND4,000 per hand of bananas compared to the beginning of the second quarter of this year. There are more than 1,500 hectares of banana plants in U Minh Thuong District. Therefore, farmers are happy as the price of bananas climbs.

In Hau Giang, An Giang provinces, and Can Tho City, many banana growers are also cheerful as the price increases. According to calculation, the average banana productivity is from 25 to 40 tons per hectare per year. If the current selling price of bananas manages to maintain, farmers will earn a profit from VND100 million to VND150 million per hectare. Moreover, banana cultivation is easy and requires less care and lower investment than other cultivars. Besides domestic consumption, bananas can export to other countries.

Farmers intercrop banana plants with lotus plants to increase income in U Minh Thuong District in Kien Giang Province.

However, the difficulty of growing bananas is price instability. For instance, in the third quarter of 2017 and the beginning of the second quarter of this year, the price of Pisang awak bananas plummeted and consumption was difficult, causing farmers to suffer. To cope with the above situation, the agricultural sectors of provinces in the Mekong Delta have recommended that farmers should intercrop Pisang awak bananas with South American bananas or intercrop bananas with fruit trees, vegetables, and aquaculture to increase income.