China stops buying, fresh areca nut prices plummet

Recently, the price of fresh areca nuts has been increasing continuously, recording a record increase of about 8 times higher than last year. People in the areca growing areas of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai... harvested the fruit and sold it for 40,000 VND/kg at the beginning of the season, then jumped to 80,000-90,000 VND/kg.

Notably, in the same period last year, the price of fresh areca nuts sometimes fluctuated between only 5,000-7,000 VND/kg.

The price of dried areca nuts sold by kilns in recent days has also jumped to 500,000-570,000 VND/kg.

The reason why areca nut prices have skyrocketed and set a historical record is because China is stepping up its buying.

Thanks to that, areca farmers have also made unprecedented profits. Many people even compare "areca nuts as expensive as gold", because selling 1 ton of fresh areca nuts can buy 1 tael of gold. Therefore, many farmers spend money to install dozens of cameras around their areca gardens to prevent "areca thieves".

Meanwhile, traders from everywhere flocked to the villages of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai to search for fresh areca nuts to export to the Chinese market.

However, after setting a historic record, the price of fresh areca nuts began to plummet. From 85,000-90,000 VND/kg, the price of this fruit quickly dropped to 60,000-70,000 VND/kg. Notably, some areca nut kilns even stopped buying.

Ms. Le Thi Van (Tu Nghia district, Quang Ngai) has more than 20 areca trees that are ready to be harvested, but the areca pickers who have been "begging" for a long time have not come to pick them.

"I called and asked, the areca picker said to sympathize and wait for the price to stabilize in a few days. He said yesterday he picked more than three hundred kilograms of areca, and when he brought it to the kiln to sell, he lost 3,000 VND/kg," said Ms. Van.

Leaders of Son Tay district - known as the land of thousands of areca nuts in Quang Ngai confirmed that areca nut prices are falling and are difficult to sell. Fortunately, it is the end of the season, so there are not many areca nuts left in the garden.

According to traders, the price of areca nuts has dropped sharply because Chinese partners have imported enough goods for production, so they have stopped buying. Therefore, the downward trend of areca nut prices is likely to continue in the coming days.

Discussing the story of areca nut prices hitting a record high and then plummeting, Mr. Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that the price increase followed by a sharp decrease has become a "formula".

He emphasized that this “formula” is repeated with informal export items. Accordingly, areca nut is a product with a very narrow market, currently only being informally exported to China. Therefore, the story of areca nut prices increasing and then falling sharply has happened many times in recent years.

In fact, at the end of 2022, the price of areca nuts also skyrocketed to 60,000 VND/kg. Immediately after that, this fruit dropped to 3,000-4,000 VND/kg when China stopped buying.

The agricultural and local authorities have also issued many recommendations for crops. However, our farmers are “forgetful”, so the story of prices increasing and then falling sharply, or the refrain of planting and cutting still happens.

“Not only with areca nuts, we have learned many lessons from pepper, dragon fruit, oranges… and it could happen with durian in the near future,” said Mr. Cuong.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has repeatedly recommended and provided guidance, but the decision to plant or not lies with the farmers. As for prices, they must follow market rules. If traders no longer buy, and if prices drop, the authorities cannot intervene.

In China, young areca nuts are used to make candy. This candy is very popular in the country of a billion people, especially in cold regions because it has the effect of preventing sore throat and keeping the body warm.

However, the leader of the Department of Crop Production said that to develop areca trees sustainably, there must be a direction, planting in advantageous areas. In particular, there must be a methodical purchase and sale agreement with the Chinese partner. Small-scale trade will have many risks.