Đồng Nai: "Nóng" thị trường Ca cao
The fresh cocoa fruit price sold in the garden now ranges from 5,000 to 5,200 VND / kg, an increase of about 2,000 VND / kg over the same period last year. It is expected that cocoa prices will continue to stand at a high level, because according to the International Cocoa Organization (ICO) forecast, global cocoa supplies are going through the longest period of shortage in more than 5 past decade.
Cocoa farmers are excited by the harvest season, winning the price. In the photo: Mr. Tran Van Banh, a farmer in Thong Nhat district is harvesting cocoa.
According to enterprises (enterprises) that buy cocoa, the market for cocoa in Dong Nai is also "hot" because the area of local cultivation has decreased sharply. Meanwhile, the increasing demand for cocoa materials in processing is creating competition in the buying market.
Missing supply
According to data from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2013 the total area of cocoa plantation in the province is only about 880 hectares, hundreds of hectares lower than a few years ago. Farmers are less and less interested in this crop. Mr. Bui Dinh Buoi, Head of Thong Nhat district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, compares: "At the beginning of 2013, there were 100 hectares of cocoa in the whole district but now only over 40 hectares. One of the main reasons is that this plant variety suffers from many pests and diseases, making investment efficiency low.
Mr. Dang Truong Khanh, Director of Trong Duc Cocoa Co., Ltd (Dinh Quan District), shared: "Enterprises have been in crisis because there is a period of total area of cocoa signed for consumption. farmers up to 1 thousand hectares, then reduced to only a few hundred hectares ”. Currently, the processing capacity of this enterprise is only 40% of the expected capacity. In particular, raw materials purchased in Dong Nai account for about 50%, the rest must be collected and collected from neighboring provinces and cities. Currently some cocoa processing units of other localities have purchased agents in Dong Nai. This is also a significant competitive pressure for enterprises in Dong Nai today.
Mr. Nguyen Van Loc, Director of Nguyen Loc Cocoa Company (Long Khanh Town), also emphasized that the source of cocoa material in Dong Nai only met a very small part of processing demand. [Nbsp] “In addition to Grand-Place Group which is a consumer of cocoa beans, many foreign corporations are also very interested and questioned about cocoa purchasing in Dong Nai with me. They are willing to invest capital and techniques for farmers to develop cocoa growing areas in this region if there is a support policy from the State ” - Mr. Loc shared.
Improving cocoa garden
Mr. Tran Van Banh, a farmer with a cocoa garden of nearly 1 hectare in Thong Nhat district, said that this cocoa crop, season-winning farmer, won the price. After years of hardship, cocoa trees began to give sweet fruits thanks to his persistence in keeping the garden in difficult times. According to Mr. Banh: “Many harvests and cocoa gardens have low efficiency because they are weak in pest care and treatment techniques. Through many years of trying to learn cocoa techniques and accumulating experience from practice, I have overcome the above disadvantages. On the other hand, businesses also support farmers a lot about technical care and prevention of pests and diseases on this fastidious crop ”.
According to Director of Trong Duc Dang Truong Khanh Cocoa Co., Ltd., the company is trying to restore cocoa material area towards forming specialized areas. The enterprise has organized a team of engineers to directly assist farmers in planting and processing pests and diseases at the garden. The company specializes in providing cocoa products such as: pure cocoa powder [Chocolate] ... etc. The goal is to develop this variety in the direction of improving the quality, not expanding the area at all costs. Accordingly, cocoa farmers must invest in a methodical way, with knowledge about techniques of care and treatment of pests, not just running after the movement.
According to many cocoa farmers, the most difficult situation of cocoa trees is the rotten season rotten disease. Many cocoa gardens still lose about 20% of their production in the rainy season harvest because of this disease. Some places are beginning to pay attention to investing in irrigation systems to produce cocoa in the dry season in order to avoid losses because of fruit rot due to rain.
“Previously, farmers still considered cocoa as an intercropping crop, so they could invest more or not. Therefore, many gardeners have finished investing to cut down because of low productivity and pestilence. In fact, cocoa is a fastidious crop, must be invested and cared for, mastered the technique of deep and disease treatment, the new garden will be effective ” - Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuoc, Vice Chairman Hung Loc cocoa club, commented.