Recently, many farms in the southern province of Trà Vinh Province reported losses because the prices of many kinds of fruits such as mango, orange and pomelo continued to drop. According to Nguyễn Như Cường, Director of the ministry’s Department of Crop Production, many types of fruits were planted spontaneously in recent years. In other words, farmers did not follow planning but raced for short-term profit. The increase in fruit plantation area and output resulted in oversupply and made it difficult for consumers, Cường said. As a result, the prices of many fruits plummeted.
In 2018, the department asked localities to maintain the orange plantation area at around 84,000 ha as planned, but now the orange plantation area has been expanded to 97,000 ha.
Lê Xuân Trường, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said that the increases in plantation areas and output of citrus made it difficult for farmers.
According to Cường, instead of increasing plantation areas, farmers and enterprises should focus on building brands, increasing added value and standardizing production from cultivation to harvest, processing and distribution to establish a value chain in fruit production.
Source: einnews.com