After more than a month of deep decline, the price of dried coconut in Tien Giang province has risen back in nearly one week.
Farmers collect, sort, and peel coconut shells. (Photo: Internet)
According to coconut growers in the eastern districts, the most coconut growing area of Tien Giang province, the price of dried coconut increased almost twice compared to the purchase price one week ago at VND 20,000-25,000/dozen).
Mrs. Nguyen Thi Be, Thanh An Hamlet, An Thanh Thuy Commune, Cho Gao District, owner of 1 ha of coconut, said that the increased price of coconut has helped farmers have income and conditions to take care of the coconut garden. A month ago, traders were reluctant or even did not buy so farmers had to let the coconut fall full of roots.
At the selling price of VND 45,000/dozen, Mrs. Be’s coconut garden harvested 1,200 fruits, earning about VND 4.5 million. Mrs. Be shared that growing coconut does not require much investment and care, each year coconut is available for harvest 10 times. If the selling price is stable at 45,000 VND/dozen, this coconut garden brings an income of about 45-50 million VND/year.
Mrs. Ly Thi Lan, owner of a dried coconut barn in Binh Ninh commune, Cho Gao district, said: Currently, some establishments making cakes and jams are preparing sources of materials for processing at the end of the year, so the demand for dried coconut increased. On the other hand, some enterprises exporting coconut to the Chinese market have started to collect coconut again after being restricted from circulation through the border gates to prevent COVID-19 which helped the price of coconut increase again.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang, the province currently has about 14,500 hectares of coconut, with the production of 95,000 tonnes for serving the markets annually. The coconut area of Cho Gao district alone is 7,260 hectares (an increase of 410 hectares compared to the end of 2021), of which the area for harvesting is 6,078 hectares, and the output in the first 6 months of 2022 reached 60,750 tonnes.
Mr. Ngo Huu The, Secretary of the District Party Committee of Cho Rice district, said: The District Party Committee issued Resolution No. 11-NQ/HU dated December 1, 2021, on leading the development of specialized production areas of coconut to 2025 and the following years.
Based on that, the People’s Committee of Cho Rice district has developed an implementation plan; coordinated with Thabico Tien Giang Food Technology Joint Stock Company to organize a conference to implement organic coconut growing area in Cho Rice district until 2025 and the following years.
The district has selected three communes of Hoa Dinh, Xuan Dong, and Binh Ninh to implement organic coconut certification in 2022 with an area of 300 ha for export to the European market. In addition, the professional sector is focusing on propaganda to encourage farmers to participate in organic coconut production of 120 ha in Binh Ninh and Xuan Dong communes of the district.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tien Giang, the agricultural sector is focusing on solutions to improve the aging coconut gardens as well as encouraging farmers to cultivate in a safe and organic way. In addition, the agricultural sector continues to transfer science and technology to the people to improve farming processes and enhance the value chain of coconut products for export.