Traders looking to buy at high prices

Currently, 1.2 hectares of rice fields owned by farmer Le Ngoc An (Vinh Thanh district, Can Tho city) are in the flowering stage, expected to be harvested around the 10th of December. This farmer said that many traders have come to the fields to deposit in advance at high prices.

“This season, I planted Dai Thom 8 rice. From the moment I sowed, traders came to my field and offered to deposit at 7,500 VND/kg of fresh rice. After that, every few days, traders came to inquire, and most recently, when the rice was blooming, a trader came to buy at 9,500 VND/kg. I have grown rice for many years, but I have never seen a year with such a high price,” An said.

According to Mr. An, the reason for the high price of rice as well as the scene of traders rushing to place early deposits is because currently, the supply of rice is limited while consumer demand increases during Tet.

Although it is expected to be harvested in about 40 days, the Dai Thom 8 rice field of farmer Le Chi Tam (Binh Thuy district, Can Tho city) has had many people coming to buy it: "This winter-spring crop, my family sowed Dai Thom 8. Although it has only recently bloomed, many familiar traders have come to pay high prices to deposit. Some people paid up to 9,300 VND/kg of fresh rice. This price is much higher than last year's winter-spring crop."

Farmers are not in a hurry to receive deposits

Mr. An calculated that if he closed the price at 9,500 VND/kg, minus the cost of fertilizer, pesticides, cutting machines, labor, etc., he would make a profit of about 6 million VND/cong (1 cong = 1,200 square meters), and if the harvest was good, it could be up to 7 million VND/cong, higher than previous years. However, when he saw some farmers excitedly closing the deal right away, this farmer was still in no hurry to accept the deposit because he believed that the price of rice would continue to increase in the coming time.

“In most previous years, rice prices were not good, those who owned their own fields broke even, while those who rented fields only lost money. Therefore, when offered high prices, many farmers, especially those who rented fields, received deposits and signed contracts with traders to avoid risks. Seeing that, I was also very impatient. But looking at the upcoming demand for rice consumption, plus learning from previous crops of receiving deposits early and then regretting it, I decided to wait until the harvest day to finalize the price,” Mr. An shared.

Mr. Tam said that in the previous crop, many households accepted deposits early because they thought the current price was higher than a few years ago, not to mention that if the rice price dropped in the future, they would still make a profit and not worry about being affected. As for him, thanks to not rushing to accept deposits, he was able to secure a better price than many surrounding households. So learning from experience for this crop, even though he received many attractive offers to accept early deposits from traders, Mr. Tam still refused.

“The price offered by the traders this time is not bad, but I still try to hold out. When someone offers around 9,600 - 10,000 VND/kg, I will close the deal. Because in the previous crop, thanks to the late sale, each kg of rice my family sold increased by about 1,000 VND/kg, and the profit was also higher. While the rice is still a month away from being harvested, I don’t want to receive a deposit early and then regret it,” said Mr. Tam.