Coconut growers in southern Ben Tre province are enjoying a lucrative harvest as the fruit price is spiralling thanks to better processing and growing demand from overseas markets.

At the Mekong delta wharf, the price of coconut is rising day by day, up to 2,100 VND (14 US cent) each, from the previous month's 1,300 VND and just 500-600 VND a year ago.

Over the last ten days, junks heaped with coconuts from other Mekong delta provinces have crowded the Ham Luong River for shipment to China and Cambodia.

However, while the higher price is a boon for growers, it is at least a short-term problem for some local coconut processors.

Many provincial coconut candy workshops have to seek material in Mekong Can Tho and Vinh Long provinces.

Ben Tre's two coconut scraping and drying plants, joint ventures with Sri Lanka's Silvermill Group, have halted production temporarily as they wait for prices to go down.

The provincial Department of Industry said Ben Tre has signed two memoranda of understanding with German partners to build coconut milk processing plants.

Head of the Department, Tran Anh Tuan, said that provincial export turnover rose from 24 million USD in 2001 and 31 million USD last year and will rise to an anticipated 35 million USD this year.
Ben Tre, less than 100km south of HCM City, is famous for its vast coconut gardens, which cover a total area of 35,000ha and provide about 250 million coconuts annually. The industry generates 50 percent of the province's total industrial output value.

Various products can be made and processed from coconuts including canned milk, jelly, matting, coir thread, charcoal, candy and souvenir goods. Forty-five percent of Ben Tre's population lives on the cocunut industry.