Prices of banana up in Mekong Delta

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Mekong Delta Province of Kien Giang said traders have flocked to localities in the province to buy banana resulting in hike in prices of the fruit.

In communes Minh Thuan and An Minh Bac, traders proposed to buy Siamese banana at the price of from VND8,000 to VND10,000 a bunch of banana, VND2,000 - VND4,000 higher than the early second quarter of the year.

Farmers in U Minh Thuong District have grown banana on the land of 1,500 hectares; therefore, farmers are eager to sell the fruit as they earn more profit when prices of banana have gone up.

Their peers in Hau Giang, An Giang, and Can Tho City in the Mekong Delta are happy too at the hike of banana price. Statistically, banana productivity this year is 25 - 40 ton per hectare; once prices maintain like present, farmers will get profit of around VND100 - VND150 million per hectare.

Additionally, banana is easily grown; farmers don’t make great stride to plant it. Bananas are consumed domestically and it is one of commodities for export.

However, banana farmers have sometimes fallen into despair because of drop of price. For instance, in the third quarter of 2017 or early in the second quarter of 2020, dramatic fall of the banana price has caused great hardship for farmers. Therefore, the agriculture sector in provinces in the Mekong Delta advised farmers to practice polyculture and crop rotation as well as raise fish for stable income.