Many agricultural products’ prices dropped to several thousand dong per kilogram

In Gia Lai, the price of watermelon is currently only about 1,000-5,000 VND per kilogram. Traders buy selectively, only good quality lots can sell at high prices.

Ms. Loan, a melon growing household in Phu Tuc commune (Gia Lai), said the investment cost per acre is about 9 million VND. When harvesting, she only sold buckets to traders for about 3 million VND per pole, a loss of about 7 million VND. With an area of ​​8 acres, her family lost more than 50 million VND in this case.

Ms. Phuong’s family in a nearby area also suffered great damage with nearly 8 hectares of watermelons, a loss of nearly half a billion VND. According to her, in previous years, watermelon after Tet often had quite good prices. This year, consumer demand decreased, while exports to China were limited, so prices dropped sharply.

According to Gia Lai Department of Industry and Trade, the whole province has about 2,733 hectares of watermelons. To date, the harvested area has only reached more than 10%, with an output of about 12,000 tons. The remaining 2,400 hectares are entering the harvest period in March and April, equivalent to nearly 90% of the crop’s output.

Not only watermelon, many other fruits also dropped sharply in price. In Tra Con commune (Vinh Long), oranges sold at the garden are only 1,000-3,000 VND per kg depending on the type. Meanwhile, the investment cost for one hectare is up to 400-500 million VND. At current prices, farmers estimate a loss of about 100-200 million VND per hectare each year.

Ms. Hai, owner of an orange garden of nearly one hectare in Hieu Thanh commune, said that beautiful oranges sell for about 3,000 VND per kilogram, while slightly ugly ones only sell for about 1,500-2,000 VND. With an output of about 9 tons per worker, the revenue is only about 27 million VND, so it’s still a loss. “For many years, the price of oranges has continuously dropped, so after this season I plan to switch to other crops,” she said.

Agricultural product prices fell sharply, causing many traders to put goods on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City to retail at cheap prices. Surveys along some routes show that oranges are sold for about 5,000 VND per kg, and watermelons are about 8,000-10,000 VND per kg.

On Nguyen Oanh Street, Go Vap Ward, many selling points have “rescue” signs with bags of oranges and watermelons piled up. Mr. Hoa, a trader here, said that after the Lunar New Year, purchasing power was weak, so in addition to selling wholesale to dealers, he had to sell retail to quickly sell inventory.

Not only fruits, many vegetables also decrease in price sharply after Tet. At traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City, the price of tomatoes before Tet was 45,000-70,000 VND per kg, now it is only 10,000-25,000 VND per kg (depending on type). Green beans and okra decreased by about half, to 20,000-25,000 VND per kg, while many popular gourds, squash and green vegetables were at 20,000-35,000 VND per kg.

According to Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, agricultural product prices have dropped sharply due to many factors. First of all, the Chinese market – where most of Vietnam’s fruits are consumed – is tightening quarantine and quality standards. Meanwhile, many domestic testing laboratories are overloaded or temporarily suspending operations, causing the testing process to prolong, increasing risks for traders.

In addition, the market is in a transition period before fully applying the new requirements on traceability and growing area codes under Protocol and Order 280 from June 1, 2026. Purchasing contacts therefore become cautious, only buying in moderation to avoid the risk of goods being returned at the border gate.

Pressure also comes from rising logistics costs. A fruit and vegetable export business in Ho Chi Minh City said that the conflict in the Middle East is affecting goods transportation routes to this region and to Europe. Shipping rates recently increased to about 5,000-6,000 USD per container, compared to the previous level of 3,000-4,000 USD.

According to the Binh Thuan Dragon Fruit Association, air transportation costs were previously about 1.5 USD per kg, after the conflict increased to 4-5.5 USD and are now up to 7-8 USD per kg. Freight fees are too high, making it difficult for many shipments to be exported to Europe, causing the price of white-fleshed dragon fruit for export to only 8,000-9,000 VND per kg, while red-fleshed dragon fruit is about 17,000-18,000 VND per kg.

Businesses said they are looking for new markets in Asia such as Japan and Korea, but purchasing power in these markets is difficult to immediately offset the decline in goods in major markets.