Vietnam Agriculture - Weekly Summary (8 - 14 October 2018)

Nieuwsbericht | 15-10-2018 | 07:06

A weekly summary of agriculture development and production in Vietnam by VietLinh online.

Aquaculture:

Recently, a state-of-the-art water treatment plant has been officially inaugurated and put into operation in Bac Lieu Province. The plant is located at the largest seedling production area in the country in Nha Mat Ward, Bac Lieu City.

By applying newest technologies from the top three countries in the world (Germany, England and Austria), the plant utilizes the world-class systems such as sand filters, ozone treatment, UV disinfection, and automatic operation.

A representative of the Viet-Uc Group, which invests in the factory, said that with a budget of more than VND50 billion, a capacity of 250 m3/h, the plant’s system can process and supply clean water for about 80 shrimp farms. It is expected to provide services for the production of more than 7 billion high-quality shrimps each year.

For the past five years, Viet-Uc Group is the largest shrimp larvae producer in Vietnam. It has a total production capacity of more than 50 billion shrimp larvae/year, accounting for 25% of the country's shrimp larvae market.

Processing, Import and Export:

According to the leaders of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), from late September until now, the price of raw Tra fish in Mekong Delta ranges from VND35,000 to 36,000/kg. With the current price, Tra fish farmers earn an interest of VND6,000 to 9,000/kg. Currently, many processing businesses are also increasing their Tra fish purchase to prepare for export to the U.S. and China when trade barriers are loosened.

Tra fish export is expected to continue to increase in the last few months of the year. The turnover of Tra fish export in 2018 is predicted to reach $2.1 billion, which will be an increase of 22% over 2017.

Livestock:

In many provinces in Mekong Delta, the price of pork has recovered strongly since May. In recent days, pork price has reached the peak of VND52,000-55,000/kilogram, making many farming households buy more piglets to increase their sounders. However, the supply of piglets is lacking on these days.

Currently, high-quality piglets weighing below 20 kilograms are sold at VND110,000/kilogram. Piglets from 21 kilograms or more are sold at VND55,000/kilogram. The prices are high compared to the stable price of piglets in the past (from VND28,000 to 29,000/kilogram for piglets weighing 20 kilograms each). The increasing prices are also the highest prices of piglets since the beginning of the year.

Pet, Flowers and Ornamental Plants:

From a capital of VND100 million, Le Thanh Trung in Hoa Xuan Ward, Cam Le District, Da Nang City invested in a net house system. It uses sprinkler irrigation to grow orchids imported from Thailand. After 2 months of planting, he observed that the orchids grew well and decided to get a bank loan of VND500 million to expand his farming. Currently, Le has nearly 26,000 branches of Mokara orchid.

Le said that Mokara farming requires low-cost investment, but it can provide high profit. Currently, his orchid farm is expanded into more than 3,500 m2. It provides orchids to flower shops, resorts, and hotels. After deducting the expenses, Le estimated that his income can be more than VND2 billion per year.

Plantation:

Floodwater is continuing to rise. It makes many sugar cane areas flooded and damaged in Phung Hiep District, Hau Giang Province. To support farmers, the province’s authorities and many sugar cane mills have quickly implement solutions to prevent further damages.

Phung Hiep District has more than 3,000 hectares of sugar cane (out of the remaining 6,500 hectares) are not harvested and are submerged from 10 to 20 centimeters of water. Of which, over 120 hectares of sugar cane were damaged. Specifically, 27.6 hectares in Tan Long Commune and more than 15 hectares in Hoa An Commune were damaged for more than 70%.

Currently, traders buy raw sugar cane in Hau Giang Province at only VND650-700/kg while the investment price is VND715/kg. Thus, sugar cane farmers face serious losses.

Fruits:

In the past 10 days, the price of Java rambutan (usually called sour rambutan) in Cho Lach and Chau Thanh Districts of Ben Tre Province increased continuously at VND1,000-1,500/kg/day. The price purchased directly at garden is from VND32,000-33,000/kg. Meanwhile, the price of sweet rambutan decreased from VND24,000/kg to only VND17,000-18,000/kg.

According to many gardeners, this is the first time in many years the price of sour rambutan is higher than the price of sweet rambutan. Whereas, the price of sweet rambutan is usually higher than Java rambutan about VND5,000-7,000/kg.

This time is the end of the crop. Thus, there are not so many rambutan left for sale. This year, gardeners actively make more than 50% of their rambutan trees bear unseasonal fruits. This is a much higher rate compared to previous years. At this time, unseasonal rambutan is in the fruit-bearing period.

Farmers, Agriculture, Countryside:

The "Proud to Be Vietnamese Farmers" Awards announced 63 outstanding Vietnamese farmers in 2018 and held a ceremony on October 14 in Hanoi.

From the nominations of 63 provinces and cities, the final selection council of the program "Proud to Be Vietnamese Farmers" evaluated and compared candidates with four criteria. After considerations, it selected and honored 63 farmers who deserve the title of "Excellent Vietnamese Farmer of 2018."

The 63 outstanding farmers are dynamic and creative. They have the will to overcome difficulties, to become rich from agriculture, and to live responsibly with the community.