Vietnam’s Mekong Delta jackfruit farmers struggle amid price collapse

In Dong Thap Province, once-busy collection points have shut down or scaled back operations due to export bottlenecks.

Nguyen Van Sang, a farmer in Binh Phu Commune, said even top-grade fruit sells for only VND3,000 per kilogram, while production costs reach VND8,000 ($0.3).

“Selling means losses, but leaving fruit on the trees means waste,” he said.

Similar scenes unfold in neighboring Vinh Long Province, where farmer Tran Thi Loan reported that traders sometimes fail to show up, leaving ripe fruit to rot.

Last year, prices ranged from VND15,000-20,000 ($0.56-0.75) per kilogram, but this season has seen a dramatic collapse.

Traders attributed the price crash primarily to export difficulties, with shipments stuck at border gates and forced back into domestic markets.

Oversupply, combined with weak local demand, has driven prices down.

Rising transport costs and delays have further discouraged buyers.

To mitigate losses, many farmers have turned to selling jackfruit pods instead of whole fruit.

Along rural roads in Dong Thap, families can be seen cutting fruit to salvage value. Traders pay around VND16,000 ($0.6) per kilogram for large pods and VND6,000 ($0.22) for smaller ones.

Tran Van Bung, who cultivates 1.2 hectares in Thanh Phu Commune, said selling whole fruit at VND1,000-3,000 ($0.03-0.11) per kilogram is unsustainable.

“I have to peel and sell pods. It’s hard work, but at least I recover some money for fertilizer,” he explained.

Families like Nguyen Thi Chen’s are also combining whole-fruit and pod sales to maintain income.

However, peeling requires labor and time, leaving households without resources to suffer greater losses.

Local traders said that most unsold jackfruit is now consumed domestically or processed into dried products, with approximately two metric tons of pods shipped daily to Ho Chi Minh City.

Still, this is only a temporary fix.

Agricultural experts warned that jackfruit production remains fragmented, with weak links between farmers, cooperatives, and businesses.

Without standardized growing zones, the market is vulnerable to shocks.

Authorities are urging a shift toward ‘agricultural economics,’ reorganizing value chains and improving quality to stabilize consumption.

For now, with prices at rock bottom, farmers continue to improvise daily to survive the crisis.