Hoa Thang commune (Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak) is likened to the seedling market of the Central Highlands. From the front or in the alley, there are also nurseries and establishments selling seedlings. Even though it is the peak of the dry season, establishments selling seedlings are still bustling with trading activities, especially coffee trees.
Mr. Nguyen Ba Hung – representative of a seedling sales center in Hoa Thang commune – said that it is not yet the sowing season. However, due to the unprecedented increase in coffee prices (over 130,000 VND/kg), the demand for growing this tree has increased. Seeing this, agents rushed to Hoa Thang commune to buy seedlings for storage. These agents come from districts in Dak Lak province and also provinces in the Central Highlands such as Lam Dong, Dak Nong… The agent buys the most up to 3,000-4,000 coffee trees.
Coffee seedlings are being collected in large quantities.
Mr. Hung added that the demand for buying new coffee varieties has increased sharply in the past 2 years. Before that, about 4-5 years ago, the number of people buying seedlings was very small, because coffee prices were low. One year, Mr. Hung’s facility could not sell all the seedlings and had to throw them away.
The demand for coffee varieties has increased so the price has also increased sharply, even doubling. The owner of a seedling establishment in Hoa Thang commune revealed that each real coffee tree costs 4,000 VND/tree (the previous crop was 2,000 VND/tree), grafted coffee ranges from 12,000-16,000 VND/tree. depending on the size of the tree (while last year it ranged from 8,000-10,000 VND/tree).
The increase in the price of green coffee causes the price of seedlings to also increase.
Although the price has nearly doubled, the demand for seedlings is quite high, some dealers are out of stock because they cannot produce enough to sell.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (owner of an establishment selling seedlings in Ea Pok town, Cu M’gar district, Dak Lak) shared that in previous years, coffee prices were low so people rarely bought seedlings. Due to not selling out, many nurseries had to be abandoned, causing economic loss.
People started re-cultivating coffee after prices increased.
According to Ms. Phuong, in the past two years, coffee prices have increased, and farmers have bought a lot of seedlings. However, the number of nurseries is not many or they cannot be sold in time. Sometimes, coffee seedlings with only 2-3 leaves are ordered by traders, leading to a scarcity of coffee seedlings. To meet the demand for buying coffee seedlings in the next planting season, Ms. Phuong’s facility has prepared 3,000 grafted coffee tree varieties and 2,000 real plants.
Dr. Phan Viet Ha – Deputy Director of the Institute of Agricultural and Forestry Science and Technology of the Central Highlands (Wasi) – said that this year there is a scarcity of coffee varieties due to increased demand for planting by people, exceeding their capacity. Predictive ability of nurseries and seed suppliers.
Mr. Ha added that in Wasi there is the Eakmat Coffee Research and Technology Transfer Center, specializing in providing coffee varieties and coffee beans throughout the country. But this year, the center could not provide enough coffee varieties to the market.
“This year, the center prepared 2 million seedlings but it was not enough. The seeds have also been sold out since December 2023. The reason the demand for coffee planting has skyrocketed is due to the record increase in coffee prices over time. The center does not think that coffee prices will increase that much. There will definitely be a shortage of seedlings, but we always recommend choosing a reputable seed supplier with a clear origin Don’t be in a hurry to buy unsecured seedlings. Waiting until the tree is big to know will only waste money and time on care…”, Mr. Ha emphasized.
