Reduced imports from China, combined with high fuel prices causing container trucks to cease operations, have driven fresh chili prices down to 5,000 - 7,000 VND per kg.

In early April, along Truong Sa Street on the south bank of the Tra Khuc River in Quang Ngai, residents spread out chilies to dry, covering a stretch of about 2 km. Truong Sa is the main route through An Phu Commune, one of the province's renowned chili-growing localities, where sidewalks are frequently utilized for drying. Whenever prices drop, the volume of dried chilies along the roadside increases significantly.

Mr. Nguyen Van Anh, owner of a 750 m2 chili field in An Phu Commune, stated that he has never seen fresh chili prices fall as shockingly as this year. Last year, chilies averaged 50,000 VND per kg, occasionally peaking at over 70,000 VND, allowing him to earn approximately 50 million VND for nearly one ton. This year, the price started at 14,000 VND at the beginning of the season and plummeted to 5,000–7,000 VND per kg by April 9.

Similarly, a somber atmosphere pervades the fields along the Tra Bong River in communes such as Binh Chuong, Binh Son, and Binh Minh. "Investment costs are about 5 million VND per sao (500m2), and hiring harvesters costs about 250,000–300,000 VND per day. At current prices, we cannot even cover the labor costs," said Mr. Tran Van Thanh, a chili farmer.

According to traders, chilies in Quang Ngai are primarily exported to China via unofficial channels. The price drop is due to declining import demand from this country, coupled with soaring transportation costs that have forced domestic traders to purchase in moderation.

Regarding logistics costs specifically, for the approximately 1,000 km journey from Quang Ngai to the northern border gates, a one-way trip for a container truck typically consumes about 500–700 liters of diesel.

In early April, diesel prices peaked at over 40,000 VND per liter—double the price of last year—meaning each container incurred an additional 12–15 million VND in one-way costs.

Consequently, each round trip from Quang Ngai to the north saw expenses inflated by nearly 30 million VND. By the afternoon of April 9, diesel prices decreased to 32,960 VND per liter, offering some relief to transport costs, though they remain 1.5 times higher than last year.

For this reason, the traffic of container trucks carrying fresh chilies is not as bustling as in previous years. Farmers are either delaying harvests in hopes of a price recovery or switching to drying the chilies for storage. This situation has forced some container drivers to park for several days to consolidate enough fresh stock and wait for fuel prices to drop before heading north.

According to the Quang Ngai Provincial Sub-Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, the province has a vast chili cultivation area. In this year's Winter-Spring crop alone, residents planted over 1,000 hectares with an average annual output of about 21,000 tons. However, chili cultivation remains fragmented and small-scale, without large-scale specialized farming zones.

Chili prices are currently precarious as they depend on export capabilities to China and rely primarily on intermediary traders without stable corporate underwriting, leading to high risks when the market stops importing. Faced with the deep price decline, some purchasing facilities are storing chilies in cold warehouses to wait for price increases or are drying them.

The agency has proposed developing large, concentrated production zones and establishing market information systems to connect farmers with enterprises, forming production linkage chains to mitigate risks against price fluctuations.

Source: VnExpress