Mangosteen; Farmers Are Desperate

[LaoPo]

Does anybody know what went wrong -and why- with the prices for Mangosteen ?

Poor farmers !

Thailand: authorities to shore up price of mangosteen

Authorities will intervene to stem the rapid slump in the price of mangosteen, which has dropped 90% in just over a month, plunging fruit growers into debt. Polawat Chayanuwat, governor of the fruit-growing province of Rayong, said he planned to tap the Rayong Development Fund donated by the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand to shore up the slump in mangosteen prices.

He said the fruit _ now retailing at four to six baht a kilo, down from 15 to 20 baht a kilo only last week _ would be bought at 12 baht a kilo. The governor said the current price range barely covered the wages of fruit pickers hired by orchard owners. In nearby Trat, a joint meeting by the internal trade, commerce and agriculture offices was held yesterday to figure out ways to help struggling fruit growers.

Trat governor Boonchuay Kerdsukhon said some assistance would be offered to farmers, although exactly what the measures would be had not been finalised. Fruit growers say the critically-low prices of longong and mangosteen are sending them into serious debt.

Orchard owner Sukij Kongprew said he had cut down all his fruit trees in protest at the state's inability to help farmers back on their feet. Mr Sukij, who had around 300 fruit trees on his eleven-rai orchard in tambon Huang Nam Khao in Muang district, said he had felled each tree one-by-one with a chainsaw. He said he wasn't earning enough to even pay the fertiliser and water bills.

''I cut them all down because I'm desperate. I don't know who to turn to for help any more,'' Mr Sukij said. He said he had been selling the mangosteen from his orchard for 70 to 80 baht a kilo last month. That price fell to 30 baht a kilo early this month and had now dropped to a dismal five to six baht a kilo.

''I'd rather fell the trees than take to the streets because people might think I have a political motive,'' he said. Mr Sukij said one solution was to completely sell his mangosteen stocks regardless of the low price and use the money to plant more profitable durian trees.

From:

http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=398

LaoPo

[andy1308]

What went wrong? That's what I asked when I saw the original story yesterday. To be honest it should have been answered within the story, but my Thai g/f said it's down to oversupply - too much fruit this year and not enough buyers.

[kmart]

I remember a few years ago when people were driving their pickups to Trat and Chantaburi to fill up the truck beds with pineapples for 10 Baht! Just pure over-supply and lack of diversification is all. There does not seem to be much co-operation or planning amongst farmers, which lends to their plight.

[LaoPo]

I remember a few years ago when people were driving their pickups to Trat and Chantaburi to fill up the truck beds with pineapples for 10 Baht! Just pure over-supply and lack of diversification is all.

There does not seem to be much co-operation or planning amongst farmers, which lends to their plight.

I've seen those trucks, thousands of them also, filled with all kinds of fruit.

I agree, partly, that there might have been no planning amongst the farmers..but farmers are farmers and not planners.

They should have been guided and steered by the Ministry of Agriculture...

Same old story: it's the farmers who suffer, and their families, NOT the Bangkok planners

LaoPo

[kmart]

I remember a few years ago when people were driving their pickups to Trat and Chantaburi to fill up the truck beds with pineapples for 10 Baht! Just pure over-supply and lack of diversification is all.

There does not seem to be much co-operation or planning amongst farmers, which lends to their plight.

I've seen those trucks, thousands of them also, filled with all kinds of fruit.

I agree, partly, that there might have been no planning amongst the farmers..but farmers are farmers and not planners.

They should have been guided and steered by the Ministry of Agriculture...

Same old story: it's the farmers who suffer, and their families, NOT the Bangkok planners

LaoPo

Agreed, LaoPo. It seems like the Bangkok planners and middlemen that deliberately rip these poor hardworking people off and keep them in permanent debt. Getting organised amongst themselves would be the farmer's only solution to this problem.

[jeebusjones]

I haven't seen mangosteens selling for 4-6 baht per kilo. They have consistantly been 25 baht per kilo at my local market for as long as I can remember. (with a sign up, not just overpricing for the farang)

Has anyone else actually seen them selling at such a low price?

[LaoPo]

I haven't seen mangosteens selling for 4-6 baht per kilo. They have consistantly been 25 baht per kilo at my local market for as long as I can remember. (with a sign up, not just overpricing for the farang)

Has anyone else actually seen them selling at such a low price?

You're probably right.

But the farmers are speaking about the prices they're getting, not the market prices; that's what's making it so sad for these farmers. They are suffering because of the low prices.

Remember, their prices dropped 90%

LaoPo

[Jet Gorgon]

Sad. I remember farmers driving trucks around the villages announcing their fare by loudspeaker. We waved them down, and the lady in back would give free tasters, and then weigh out kilo bagfuls of the fruit or veg.

Also remember the variety of huge fruit trees in my village, where everyone shared; you just had to pick them. Then everyone started getting greedy, and they chopped down all the trees to make rows of concrete bunkers for the tourists. Too bad the farmers can't do that. Strange that they don't have collectives in their respective areas to set prices or a mini futures market that would let them hedge for these losses. There's a project for you investment-savvy posters.

[sgunn65]

I haven't seen mangosteens selling for 4-6 baht per kilo. They have consistantly been 25 baht per kilo at my local market for as long as I can remember. (with a sign up, not just overpricing for the farang)

Has anyone else actually seen them selling at such a low price?

I bought some in Bkk yesterday for 15 baht per kilo but last night at the night bazaar they were 35 and at our local bazaar they are pretty consistent at 25.

Maybe they sell for that in the areas they are grown

[Clipped]

mangosteen juice is a hit in the states right now....must have something to do with the FDA and import changes.

mangosteen rots at a very rapid rate also changing the antioxidant benefits...

chemical fertilizers are used rampantly here.

[Tim207]

Does anybody know what went wrong -and why- with the prices for Mangosteen ?

There are four mangosteen trees in my in-laws yard. They are never watered or fertilized, just completely ignored. Every year there are maybe a half dozen fruit on each tree. This year there was a lot of rain in the cool season. Last time I looked there were maybe 50 or more fruit per tree. All of the uncared for trees are suddenly producing large amounts of fruit and the market can't absorb it all.

Fresh fruit is a tough buisness because everybody's fruit ripens around the same time. If there is a good crop you get low prices because too much is on the market. If there is a bad crop you get good prices but you have less to sell. It evens out over time but when you are living crop to crop it is hard for small farmers to get through the poor years.

[soundman]

Same story every year...

When all the fruit comes into season at the same time, with a short shelf life, supply greatly exceeds deamand, & the farmers get peanuts for their crops.

Same with the Sept. - Oct. rice harvest every year.

Same reports about drought in Feb - Mar every year.

Same reports of floods in July every year.

Never fails to make the news. Every one bitches & moans how they are going broke.

And then what do they all do. They plant exactly the same crop the following year, with exactly the same result at harvest time.

What can I say?

Soundman.

[samran]

the government needs to be investing in crop diversification programmes, not bailing them out or subsidizing the market.

Maybe we can get maizefarmer to step up to the plate?

[Khonwan]

As I posted in the Farming Forum a couple of months ago, the government is indeed considering some positive steps that could offer genuine practical assistance to farmers. Check out this Nation report from 2nd February: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/05...ss_30025947.php

Since I've seen no further reports since then however, I do suspect it may be just more ideas that lead nowhere...just jaw jaw.

[Maizefarmer]

The reason(s):

- partly because of supply versus demand - the last crop was huge and exceeded demand, but that not only in Thailand but elsewhere in South East Asia as well, But this is only part of it - there is problem in Thailand that rears it's ugly head from time to time, and it's not confined to mangosteen.

- it's called the "middle man" or wholesaler: who collectively band together from time to time and capitalise on oversupply and maintain low farmgate prices to producers. They manage to do this because traditionaly Thai fruit & veg crop production has been divided quite strongly between growers and distributors. Growers by and large are just that - they are growers, they have preffered to leave the logistics of retailing and distribution to wholesalers. The problem used to happen with rice as well - untill the government stepped in and garaunteed each seasons rice price.

The only way for the short term is of course just as is now happening: the "giver-ment" has stepped in.

MF

[chingching]

The reason(s):

The only way for the short term is of course just as is now happening: the "giver-ment" has stepped in.

MF

??? For sure tho, the best way to keep it happening year after year. with mangosteen or any other crop. There's a reason why Russia went broke and there are only 2 countries which practice communism, North Korea and Cuba. China of course says it is communist in name, but they are certainly capitalists in practice. why? Because it works. A free market is the best judge of price. If the govt didn't step in, you can be sure there would be less farmers growing this crop next year, now that they stepped in, prob some will think, heck, next year they will save me too.

[lannarebirth]

Was down in Chumphon the other day and bought about 50 kg of mangosteen to distribute between friends and family. 15 baht/kg I believe. If there was a way to keep it longer without it rotting I'd have have bought 500kg. IMO it's about the most delicious fruit on earth. Anyone know a way to extend it's shelf life?

[redwood13]

Article in New York Times 9 Aug. 2006 re an attempt to grow commercial quantities of mangosteens in Puerto Rico and goes on to discuss the possibility of irradiating the fruit in Thailand to qualify for export to the US.

http://tinyurl.com/395xfc

"Because fresh mangosteens can harbor insect pests, the Department of Agriculture [uSA] prohibits their being brought from the main countries that grow them in Southeast Asia, or from Hawaii. (Mangosteens smuggled from Canada, where they are permitted because tropical pests cannot survive there, are occasionally sold in Chinatown [NYC].

But contrary to its reputation as a forbidden fruit, the mangosteen can be imported legally from 18 Caribbean and Central America countries, as well as from Puerto Rico. Until recently, however, no one cultivated them commercially in those areas."......................

By next year [2007] there may be other sources of mangosteen in the United States as well. On July 26 the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a proposed rule to allow fresh mangosteen and five other fruits to be imported from Thailand after being irradiated, which sterilizes insect pests. ..................

-redwood

[Jamie]

Article in New York Times 9 Aug. 2006 re an attempt to grow commercial quantities of mangosteens in Puerto Rico and goes on to discuss the possibility of irradiating the fruit in Thailand to qualify for export to the US.

http://tinyurl.com/395xfc

"Because fresh mangosteens can harbor insect pests, the Department of Agriculture [uSA] prohibits their being brought from the main countries that grow them in Southeast Asia, or from Hawaii. (Mangosteens smuggled from Canada, where they are permitted because tropical pests cannot survive there, are occasionally sold in Chinatown [NYC].

But contrary to its reputation as a forbidden fruit, the mangosteen can be imported legally from 18 Caribbean and Central America countries, as well as from Puerto Rico. Until recently, however, no one cultivated them commercially in those areas."......................

By next year [2007] there may be other sources of mangosteen in the United States as well. On July 26 the Agriculture Department’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a proposed rule to allow fresh mangosteen and five other fruits to be imported from Thailand after being irradiated, which sterilizes insect pests. ..................

-redwood

That's good news, though I am sure the fruit will have to be picked earlier to survive shipping and then treated here to speed up "ripening." Probably taste like cardboard. Willing to try though.

[btate]

A couple of points from someone who's 'inlaws' are mangosteen farmers. They also do rubber, durian, longan and some lychee. Their diversification allows them to survive the ups and downs of each of these markets. This is a bumper year for all fruits so pricing averages will be low, on the other hand rubber prices currently are pretty good. The Thai farmer is basically a subsistence farmer without the ability to adjust or plan for contingencies. Diversification is the ony way for them to protect themselves.

Mangosteen cannot be 'planned' in the sense of speculating about fruit production. Mangosteen is a perenial product unlike vegetables or pineapple, you got what you got.

The high prices being quoted are "normal" for early ripening fruit as there is a large demand. This years low price of 6 baht here in Chantaburi is an exception due to a really strong crop this year. Trees properly fed and watered are producing hungreds of kilo of fruit. The early pricing lends itself to exageration as the early fruits are graded by the aggregator, i.e. #1, #2 etc. Once full harvest is in swing that process is too wieldy so its a mixed bag pricing schedule, one price fits all. This year the very early #1 were getting around 70 baht and #2 were 40, #3 were 36 and #4 were 32. If you were lucky with early fruits, about 10 - 15% might be graded as #1. This pricing lasted about 6 days and was cut in half in one go and then gradually reduced to the mixed price low of 6 Baht over two weeks.

Interestingly enought the price went up two baht immediately when the article was published, it was 8 baht per kilo yesterday, from a low of 6 baht two days ago.

Small holders are particularly vunerable as they don't have the property resources to spread the risk. There are many many plots of land 20 rai or less that produce only one product. If that product has a down pricing year or two they are in big big trouble. Add in the new pick-up bought with the land as collateral and now you've got a real issue. You can feed the family, pay for the land or pay for the pick-up, you can do maybe two of the three but not all three.

There is a ton of land available here that results from this. The banks want the money back. I've looked at two specific pieces myself, one 18 rai of mangosteen with Thai house for 800K Baht and another for 2.7 MM baht with 12 rai of mangosteen, with a very modern stylistic house.

MF's suggestion that the middle men have something to do with it is spot on and the cutthoat methods used are draconian at best. A nationwide posting of vegetable and fruit prices gleaned from the major fresh markets would go a long way in helping these folks manage the markups allowed.

Another major issue is the gov't does not market properly to my way of thinking. Instead of spending money on trying to drive minimal spending Asian tourists here, they should maybe spend a little of that cash promoting the fresh fruits and vegetables produced here. According to a piece in the paper the other day, agriculture inputs to the GNP is currently running 10% vs. 30% in the '80s with the same percentage of the population involved in agriculture - 60%. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me at least.

Bt

[sriracha john]

I haven't seen mangosteens selling for 4-6 baht per kilo. They have consistantly been 25 baht per kilo at my local market for as long as I can remember. (with a sign up, not just overpricing for the farang)

Has anyone else actually seen them selling at such a low price?

They should take them to Phuket where last January, there were sold for an astounding 250 baht a kilo at a roadside stand (I initially thought the price sign was a smeared or misprinted sign that really meant to say 25 baht, but no... it was the for-real asking price). Granted it was most likely targeted for the Korean tourist buses... but still, I was surprised they were so brazen.

Here, have never paid more than 27... now they're at 20.... and second only to pomelo as my favorite fruit.

The wine made from this tremendously delicious fruit is one of the few wines I actually like.