Dien Chau: Purchasing red peanuts from Laos for processing

(Baonghean) - Purchasing and processing peanuts is a high-income profession for farmers in some communes in Dien Chau. Currently, the winter peanut crop in Dien Chau has only been sown for a month and is entering the branching stage, so it cannot be harvested yet. To meet the continuous demand of the market, people in Dien Thinh and Dien Thanh (Dien Chau) have gone to Laos to buy red peanuts for processing.

For several years now, every red peanut harvest season, some households in Dien Chau have gone to Laos to buy and process for sale on the market. At the beginning of the harvest season in Laos, Mr. Truong's family in Dien Thinh commune has already purchased nearly 50 tons of peanuts. He said: "Currently, it is the rainy season in Laos, so post-harvest preservation is quite difficult. Peanuts there often have to be dried, so the cost is high. I buy them and bring them to Dien Chau, which is very convenient for drying, without having to dry them like in Laos. Thanks to that, each time I buy Lao red peanuts, my family earns an additional profit of about 10 million VND from drying costs. The most profitable thing about making red peanuts is that because the peanut shell is thin, after processing and removing the shell, the kernel ratio is about 100 grams/kg higher than Vietnamese peanuts.

Besides, peanuts are rare in Vietnam this season so they sell for a very good price and also due to taste, red peanuts are more expensive than regular peanuts. “Many families in Dien Thinh commune have been buying red peanuts in Laos for the past 3 years, my family alone buys about 150 tons from Laos every year for processing. The profit from selling red peanuts from Laos is higher than regular peanuts from Vietnam, because there are currently few places doing it, while our market “eats” the goods strongly, prefers red peanuts so they are very easy to sell. Dien Chau peanuts are currently priced at 29,000 - 30,000 VND/kg, while Lao red peanuts are 33,000 - 34,000 VND/kg”.

Farmers in Dien Thinh commune dry red peanuts purchased from Laos.

This is the peanut harvest season in Laos, with good climate and soil, so most Lao farmers grow a lot of red peanuts with 3 kernels. This is a variety suitable for light loam soil, the outstanding feature is the red shell, thin shell, high kernel/fruit ratio so the preservation time is long, the quality of the seeds is good, suitable for consumer tastes. In addition, some people also consider red peanuts to have medicinal effects. Many people believe that eating red peanuts can cure many diseases such as headaches, stomachaches... The Hanoi and Hai Phong markets are very fond of red peanuts.

Dien Chau is considered a locality with rich experience in growing and intensively cultivating peanuts, with the largest area and output in the whole province. Every year, Dien Chau farmers grow more than 3,700 hectares of peanuts, with an output of over 100,000 tons. However, they have only stopped at the common L14, L23, L26 peanut varieties, which are not as valuable as the 3-core red peanut variety. In addition, in Dien Chau as well as the whole Nghe An province, peanut farmers focus mainly on the spring crop. In the summer-autumn crop, because the above peanut varieties do not have high yield and low efficiency, farmers grow less, mainly for seeds for the spring crop. Currently, Dien Chau is testing a number of new varieties with higher yield and quality to supply to farmers.

Mr. Hoang Lan - Deputy Head of the Department of Agriculture of Dien Chau district said: To increase the area of ​​crops on fertile land in the summer-autumn and winter crops, the district is currently testing a number of new crops, in which the last summer-autumn crop, the Department of Agriculture of the district tested 2 sao of red peanuts, but due to the late implementation, the productivity was not high. In the coming time, the district will continue to test for closer evaluation. It is known that in the past few years, some provinces in the North have successfully tested the planting of 3-seed red peanuts in the summer-autumn crop such as Yen Bai, Bac Giang... To expand the area of ​​peanuts in the summer-autumn crop, it is possible to plant 3-seed red peanuts to increase productivity and economic value, the relevant agencies need to research and test the red peanut variety. If successful, this is also a new crop rotation formula that brings economic efficiency to farmers.

Vo Ngoc Son (Dien Chau Radio)