China's demand for watermelons from Vietnam has nosedived, leaving growers in Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces facing huge losses from low prices and surplus production.
Growers in Binh Thuan waiting for buyers
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development warned last December that China was sending its own farmers to Laos and Cambodia to supply their own market with higher quality produce.
But farmers still borrowed to expand production, hoping they could at least match last year's prices of VND5,000 to VND10,000 (US47 cents) a kilogramme. Now the price has fallen to only VND1,000/kg.
Nguyen Duc Binh, chairman of Duc Linh District's Association of Farmer in Binh Thuan Province said 6,000 tonnes of watermelon was harvested from 200 hectares, up 60ha on a year earlier.