After waking up at 5a.m, farmers in Hanoi headed to the field to cut fresh cabbage. After that, they carried them to the local market for sale or sold to factory for export process.
Taking 40 fresh cabbages two baskets, a farmer said “If I sell it, I will earn less than VND 100,000 (US$4.2). This year, the price of fresh cabbage is very cheap. We nearly have no profit at such price”.
This year, she grew nearly 1,500 m2 of fresh cabbage, yielding quantity of more than 2MT. She estimated that she would lose more than VND4 million ($170), after taking expenses of seeds and care.
Fresh cabbage: field of materials
Fruit and vegetable prices in Vietnam have been cheaper than ever before, local media reported after Lunar New Year holiday. Namely, wholesale prices have dropped by half or even three times since then. According to a trading company of vegetables, the consumption has not surged while the supply was plentiful, leading to lower prices.
Another farmer added that never before have vegetables been as tough to sell as right now. Many local growers threw them away or brought them back home for feeding fish.
Fresh cabbage: processing chinese cabbage
Farmers in the central provinces are also struggling due to low consumption of vegetables. The prices fall that reduces traders’ interest in buying them. Local farmers suffered losses in spite of efforts and expenses.
In Ha Tinh province, farmers are harvesting their cabbage to feed pigs and cattle. Others have let the plants wither in the fields. A farmer said he had fed his fresh cabbage to his cows as no traders came to his field.
“Favorable weather at the end of last year resulted in a bumper crop of round cabbage, chinese cabbage, cauliflower, and broccoli. But as always, a bumper crop meant a price fall as supply exceeded consumption”, he explained.
In Lam Dong province, prices of high-quality cabbage in the green house have decreased by half. Only good-looking cabbage can be sold. After New Year Holiday, farmers harvested cabbage of the winter season to start a new season. The supply has surged dramatically, exceeding demand, resulting to low prices.
Source: vietnamnews.vn