Rising fuel, fertilizer prices worry farmers in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta

Nguyen Trong Bao, a farmer in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, said he has been pumping water from the river to keep his green bean fields moist under the hot sun.

But the sudden rise in fuel costs has sharply increased his expenses.

“If drought continues and yields drop, we will lose money," Bao explained.

“Fertilizer prices are also rising, but crop prices stay the same.

“It’s very hard for farmers."

Huynh Tan Hung, who manages more than four hectares of shrimp ponds in Ca Mau, said he must pump additional water during hot spells to stabilize the environment for shrimp.

“Each pumping cycle now costs millions of dong because of higher diesel prices," Hung said. [VND1 million = US$38]

“I don’t know if farmers can withstand this pace."

In Can Tho City, rice farmer Nguyen Van Tinh calculated that the cost of cultivating roughly 1,000 square meters of rice has jumped to more than VND5 million ($190) from about VND3.5 million ($133) in just days out of fertilizer price hikes.

“If rice prices don’t rise, profits will be minimal, maybe I'll even suffer losses,” he said.

Quach Van Tuan, who grows two hectares of rice in neighboring Vinh Long Province, said that while the current winter-spring crop is nearly finished, the upcoming summer-autumn season could be more challenging.

“Yields are lower and weather is harsher," he warned.

“If costs keep rising, farming may not be profitable."

Tuan suggested that farmers reduce to two rice crops per year to allow soil recovery and avoid chasing high yields with excessive fertilizer use.

A fertilizer dealer in Can Tho reported that urea prices have risen more than VND200,000 ($8) per bag in a week, while DAP fertilizer is up nearly VND100,000 ($4) per bag, with further increases expected.

Ngo Thai Chan, director of Can Tho’s Department of Agriculture and Environment, said global price hikes linked to Middle East conflicts are directly affecting farmers.

Chan advised farmers to monitor fields closely, use fertilizers more efficiently, and increase organic alternatives to reduce costs.

Vietnam raised retail fuel prices sharply on Saturday afternoon, the second increase in three days, after the government activated emergency pricing rules following a surge in global oil prices linked to tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.

Oil prices jumped about 20% on Monday to their highest level since July 2022 as the expanding U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran prompted some major Middle Eastern producers to curb supplies and raised fears of prolonged disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported.  

Escalating military tensions in the Middle East since February 27 have disrupted global fuel supplies, as about 20 percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman.