Compared to the same period in 2024, the price of dried coconuts has increased by 40%, and compared to the first quarter of 2023, it has increased sharply by 120%, the highest ever recorded.
In Ben Tre province, the price of organic dried coconuts ranges from 150,000 to 160,000 VND per dozen, while the price of regular dried coconuts ranges from 130,000 to 145,000 VND per dozen. The price of fresh coconuts has also increased strongly by 110% compared to the same period last year, from 5,000 VND to 11,000 VND/kg.
According to Mr. Cao Ba Dang Khoa, Vice Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Coconut Association, one of the important reasons for the sharp increase in coconut prices is that Indonesia, the world’s largest coconut producer, has decided to raise the coconut export tax and plans to stop exporting raw coconuts in the future.
This has caused the supply of coconuts in the international market to decrease significantly, creating opportunities for other countries like Vietnam to increase exports and drive coconut prices up.
The high price of coconuts has made farmers excited.
In addition, the increase in demand from factories in Thailand and China has also made domestic coconut prices go up. These factories are rushing to buy coconuts from Vietnam for domestic production. At the border gates in Dong Thap and An Giang provinces, dozens of containers of coconuts are exported daily.
The coconut water and coconut milk processing factories of Chinese corporations are currently operating stably and have expanded their production. The fierce competition for raw materials has driven up the price of raw coconuts, making it difficult for domestic factories to buy them.
Although farmers benefit from high prices, the factories cannot meet the purchasing demand timely, causing difficulties in the production and processing.
Mr. Tran Van Duc, General Director of Ben Tre Coconut Investment Joint Stock Company (Beinco), said that to meet production demands, his company has to consume 100 tons of fresh coconut meat daily, equivalent to about 300,000 coconuts.
With the current high price of raw dried coconuts, production costs have nearly doubled. The price of coconut meat at the same time last year was 18,000 VND/kg, but now it has increased to 35,000 VND/kg.
Meanwhile, Ms. Le Thi Be, Director of Minh Tam COCONUT Vietnam Co., Ltd., said that to have enough raw materials for production, her company has to actively look for supplies from many other localities such as Tra Vinh, Tien Giang, and Vinh Long.
However, due to the scarce supply, the continuously rising price of coconuts has caused many considerable difficulties for businesses in maintaining production.
To stabilize domestic coconut prices, the Vietnam Coconut Association has issued a plan to build a coconut raw material supply chain, helping 2,500 households in the Mekong Delta connect with businesses, banks, and export markets.
The Vietnam Coconut Association, banks, and businesses will closely cooperate to increase export value, bringing the Vietnamese coconut industry into the million-dollar value chain and providing long-term benefits for people and businesses.
Vietnam currently has 25 provinces that grow coconuts, mainly concentrated in the Mekong Delta region. By 2024, the Vietnamese coconut industry had developed over 200,000 hectares, ranking fifth in the world in coconut production, with a harvest yield of two million tons.