2023-11-03 08:08:00
The sugar factory temporarily stopped operating
Recently, the shareholders’ meeting of Can Tho Sugar Joint Stock Company (Casuco) agreed to close Phung Hiep factory in the 2023-2024 pressing season.
The reason for the temporary suspension of operations is said to be that the amount of raw sugarcane produced by farmers is not enough for pressing.
Mr. Tran Van Tuan, head of the district’s Agriculture and Rural Development Department Phung Hiep said that the Phung Hiep sugar factory’s temporary suspension of operations during the 2023-2024 crushing season will affect farmers’ production but not too much.
The reason is that for many years people have prioritized selling sugarcane (cane for beverage making – PV) to traders for higher profits. Besides, still selling to sugar mills in small “maintenance” quantities.
However, when the sugar factory issued a written notice to stop the 2023-2024 crushing season, people had to switch to selling sugar cane completely, and there was a situation where traders forced prices.
Farmers prioritize selling sugar cane instead of sugar cane because of higher profits (Photo: Bao Ky).
“If before, sugarcane could be sold at prices ranging from 1,800 to more than 2,500 VND/kg, then in the past few days, the price of sugarcane has dropped to 1,300-1,400 VND/kg. In some cases, traders have made deposits before but not taking goods, forcing farmers to lower prices before continuing to trade.
Selling sugar cane is profitable but not the optimal direction
It is known that the entire Phung Hiep district has more than 3,100 hectares of sugarcane, concentrated in 3 localities including Hiep Hung, Tan Phuoc Hung, and Bung Tau town.
Mr. Nguyen Van Canh (residing in Pho Duong hamlet, Tan Phuoc Hung commune) said that the sugar cane crop normally takes 11-12 months to sell, but in the past 3 years, sugar cane prices have been unstable and people are no longer interested. with sales to sugar mills, priority is given to selling sugarcane.
“Sugar cane can be sold after about 5 months of planting, while sugar cane can be sold after 11-12 months. It takes a long time to care for it, requires fertilizer and medicine, but the selling price is 1,100-1,200 VND/kg, which is a loss. Selling sugar cane is more profitable. So many people are interested. But now because the sugar factory announced to stop this crop, traders have forced the price, reducing it from 200 VND/kg,” Mr. Canh said.
However, sugarcane prices are being pressured by traders, so growers are still worried (Photo: Bao Ky).
Ms. Tran Thi Ut (living in Hiep Hung commune) said that her family’s main income comes from sugarcane. Her farm has about 2,000 square meters of sugarcane land, equivalent to more than 600 sugarcane boxes (rows).
A bunch of sugarcane (12 trees) weighing about 20kg was bought by traders for only 24,000 VND, equivalent to about 1,200 VND/kg, while last year’s crop had the lowest price of 1,700 VND/kg. Traders are mainly in Ho Chi Minh City.
“Selling sugar cane is still risky because it depends on traders, so it’s easy to have the price gouged. If you control the output, which means selling directly to buyers to juice the sugarcane, the quantity is not much, at most a few dozen bundles/day.” “, Mrs. Ut is concerned.
Sugarcane was once considered a crop to alleviate hunger and reduce poverty in Phung Hiep district. Currently, the whole district has more than 3,100 hectares of sugarcane (Photo: Bao Ky).
Unstable sugarcane prices and unstable output make sugarcane farmers no longer interested in this “sweet” crop. In recent years, many sugarcane growing households have broken the monoculture of sugarcane and combined the production of valuable fruit trees such as Thai jackfruit, citrus trees… to improve income.
The agricultural sector of Phung Hiep district also said that by 2025, the sugarcane area in the locality will decrease to about 2,000 hectares. Some targeted agricultural products are pineapples, jackfruit, durian…
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