The price of sweet potatoes has doubled compared to the same period last year, to 15,000-20,000 VND/kg which helps many farmers in the Central Highlands earn high profits.
Mr. Hoa, a sweet potato grower in Kon Tum, said that in this year’s crop, he has about 3 ha. Last week, he harvested about 12 tons of sweet potatoes from one ha. With the selling price of 18,000 VND per kg for type 1 and 13,000 VND for type 2, he earned 170 million VND. After deducting all costs, Mr. Hoa got a profit of 100 million VND per ha.
“I have 2 ha left for harvest in a month. If the price remains this high, this year’s harvest will be a bumper season, ” Mr. Hoa said.
Farmers got high profits thanks to the record-high price of sweet potatoes.
Growing Japanese sweet potatoes for 10 years, Ms. Luong in Gia Lai said that the production of this crop was not as expected but each ha still brings 20 tons of sweet potatoes (Her family has two ha, bringing 40 tons of sweet potatoes). Thanks to the record price of this product, after deducting the cost of 120-170 million VND per ha, she got a profit of nearly 400 million VND this year.
Ms. Thanh Mai – a trader specializing in buying sweet potatoes in the Central Highlands provinces – said that last year, the price of sweet potatoes was about 8,000-10,000 VND per kg. Most farmers suffered losses or had low profits. This year, the price has doubled so many people get high profits. After deducting the cost of cultivation and land lease, each household earns 80-100 million VND. As for Japanese potatoes, the profit is about 100-200 million per ha.
According to Ms. Mai, not only Gia Lai and Kon Tum but most farmers in the Central Highlands can also sell sweet potatoes at high prices from 14,000-20,000 VND per kg. Compared to last year, this year’s sweet potatoes have better quality, but the sales volume has decreased due to lower productivity than previous years.
Traders said that the price of sweet potatoes increased due to strong demand in the domestic market and exports. Meanwhile, the supply decreased, and farmers did not grow as massively as before. Especially, in the rainy season, the amount of sweet potatoes for harvest is usually reduced by 30-40% compared to the dry season.
Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen, General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, also said that China’s adoption of the Protocol requiring phytosanitary control of Vietnam’s sweet potato products late last year provided leverage for rising agricultural product prices. Recently, at the end of April, the first batch of sweet potatoes exported to China created more favorable conditions for the consumption demand for this product.
Sweet potatoes were harvested by farmers in their garden in Kon Tum.
To develop stably, according to Mr. Nguyen, farmers and businesses need to comply with standards of product quality and growing area codes as well as packaging facilities. The better the quality of products, the more favorable the export to China and other countries. Sweet potatoes will be high-value agricultural products.
According to the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of Gia Lai, the province has about 5,000 ha of sweet potatoes. The growing area is mainly in Phu Thien, Ia Pa, Krong Pa, Chu Se, Chu Puh, Dak Doa, Ia Grai, Chu Prong, and Mang Yang.
In Dak Lak, there is about 10,000 ha of sweet potatoes, grown mainly in Lak, Cu M’gar, Krong Nang, Krong Buk, Krong Ana, Krong Bong, Ea H ‘leo, Buon Ho town, and Buon Ma Thuot city. Total production in the province is estimated at nearly 300,000 tons this year. Particularly, growing areas have been granted growing area codes with an output of about 50,000 tons. Up to now, farmers have harvested about 50% of this area./.