Farmers 'squeezed into lower prices' as the largest sugar factory in the West closes

Hau Giang Sugarcane prices in the Western raw material region have decreased from 2,200-2,500 VND per kg to 900-1,300 VND per kg, after three weeks when the largest sugar factory here stopped operating.

Over the past few days, farmer Nguyen Van Buoi, 55 years old, in Tan Phuoc Hung commune, Phung Hiep district, has been very worried because sugarcane prices have dropped rapidly, but traders are still haggling and refusing to buy.

Hau Giang farmers harvest sugarcane. Photo: An Binh — Hau Giang farmers harvest sugarcane. Photo: *An Binh*

"In mid-October, traders came to the fields to deposit to buy sugarcane (to make soft drinks) at 2,300-2,500 VND per kilogram, but now it is only 1,100-1,200 VND per kilogram. Meanwhile, some traders buy raw sugarcane to sell to sugar factories in Tra Vinh at 900-1,000 VND per kilogram, depending on the sugar content (an index that determines the quality of sugarcane)," said Mr. Buoi, adding that his family still has 0.5 hectares of sugarcane that have not been harvested, with a yield of about 60 tons. At the current price, he loses more than one million VND per ton of sugarcane.

Many farmers in Phung Hiep district reported that for sugarcane fields that had previously been deposited at high prices, traders haggled and demanded a price reduction before harvesting, otherwise they would forfeit the deposit (10-20 million for an output of 50-100 tons). In some cases, drivers sent people into farmers' sugarcane fields to harvest a portion and then abandoned it. After that, it was difficult for these sugarcane fields to find buyers, forcing farmers to reduce the price.

Mr. Tran Van Tuan, Head of the Agriculture Department of Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province, said that in the 2024 crop year, the locality will have 3,100 hectares of sugarcane land (nearly 3 times less than 4 years ago), the largest in the West.

"Currently, the locality still has nearly 1,000 hectares of sugarcane that have not been harvested, prices are falling sharply, and people are losing big profits," said Mr. Tuan, adding that traders have simultaneously forced down the sugar factory in Phung Hiep (the largest in the West) with a capacity of 2,500 tons per day to temporarily suspend operations for the 2023-2024 crop year, starting October 25.

Raw sugarcane area in Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province. Photo: An Binh — Raw sugarcane area in Phung Hiep district, Hau Giang province. Photo: *An Binh*

In 2010-2011, Hau Giang province had the largest sugarcane area in the West with 15,000-16,000 hectares, mainly concentrated in Phung Hiep district and Vi Thanh city. The province has 3 large sugar factories operating at peak times in Long My town, Vi Thanh city and Nga Bay city.

In the following years, sugarcane prices were low, farmers’ incomes were unstable, and the area under this crop gradually decreased. Currently, all three of these sugar factories have stopped operating due to a lack of raw materials.

The West had more than 50,000 hectares of sugarcane growing land in 2010, now there are only about 15,000-16,000 hectares of this crop. The whole region went from having 10 sugar factories in operation to now having only 2 factories in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang.

An Binh

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