Chinese potato chorus "going against the road" to Da Lat

On June 26, as visitors, we walked around the Dalat agricultural market and witnessed the stalls here bustling again, when a large quantity of Chinese potatoes had just arrived. There was a bustling scene of selecting, classifying, “dressing” in red basalt soil, packing… to promptly deliver to customers.

Chinese potatoes have been "covered" with a layer of Da Lat red soil, ready to be brought to market.

Sad Chorus

As scheduled, every rainy season, off-season, when Dalat potato production is not enough to meet demand, the refrain of "bringing Chinese potatoes back to the land of potatoes, Dalat" to confuse the brand name recurs.

At Trang potato warehouse, two young workers are sorting potatoes to deliver to the Ho Chi Minh City market. They do not hesitate to say: These are Chinese potatoes, yellow potatoes, just imported. Looking inside the warehouse, a large quantity of Chinese potatoes are waiting to be "renovated" to supply to the market.

- Why do many warehouses here dye potatoes red? - I asked.

- Just for show. It depends on the customer's request. - A young man replied.

Perhaps, if a person who is not an expert in distinguishing potatoes like me did not have a “transparent” answer from the above workers, I would have to give up. Not to mention, if the Chinese potato route from the northern border gate to Ho Chi Minh City, up to Da Lat, then from Da Lat “goes” further south (whether or not it is stained with soil color is not important), then the customers at the retail market would naturally affirm that it is Da Lat potatoes!?

Walking quickly to the stall at the end of the market, under the scrutiny of many potato warehouse owners, I quickly asked two young women who were sitting sorting potatoes:

- What potato is this?

- Those are Dalat potatoes, go online and see how they are classified. You're a journalist, why are you pretending to ask? - A girl said.

- Why do Dalat potatoes have to be dyed red? - I asked. The two girls gave me silence and continued their work…

Opposite this stall, a middle-aged woman was diligently picking sprouts from medium-sized potatoes, probably due to long storage. In terms of appearance and color, they were completely different from the potatoes from the two previous stalls. “These are Da Lat potatoes, stored for a long time in the warehouse to supply the off-season market, so they sprouted. They are not selling well, they cannot compete with the price of Chinese potatoes disguised as Da Lat potatoes.” A hint of sadness flashed across her face. “Don’t put my picture in the newspaper,” she said to him…

The situation of Chinese potatoes being “reverse-shipped” from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Lat, or directly from the northern border gate, “dressed up” with red soil, then exported to the market to “confuse” the Da Lat potato brand has been going on for many years, causing farmers here to be in trouble, while customers are not sure what kind of potato they are using?!

According to the Management Board of Da Lat Agricultural Market, in mid-June 2014, through the "bridge" of import-export companies near the northern border, three traders at this agricultural market imported 44 tons of Chinese potatoes. The price of Chinese potatoes at the time of import was only 3,380 VND/kg. After going through the "beautification" and classification stages, they were "re-exported" to the market at a price of about 10,000 - 12,000 VND/kg. Lower than the price of genuine Da Lat potatoes by 2,000 to 3,000 VND/kg.

Mr. Duong Minh Son, the manager of Da Lat agricultural market, said: “This market has 65 stalls in operation, including three stalls selling Chinese potatoes. They make and export the goods as they get them. They say they have to do it to maintain their relationship. As for the matter of mixing red soil, it is a matter of “agreement” between the traders, we only urge them to limit “that” thing, we do business for life. But…” The sentence was left unfinished and concealed a long story about the sadness of the “brand” of Da Lat potatoes.

When they hit the market, they were all “called” Da Lat potatoes, and customers naturally chose to buy the cheap product. Da Lat brand potatoes continued to “struggle” due to a lack of transparency in the market.

Transparency… still a long way to go

From the above reality, the question arises: Why are Chinese potatoes imported en masse to Da Lat and not to other markets? Mr. Lai The Hung, Head of Lam Dong Plant Protection Department, affirmed: “That is a “vague” business, commercial fraud. Because Da Lat potatoes already have a brand. However, to create transparency in the business of this item is a long-term job, requiring many functional units to participate”.

According to the Head of the Lam Dong Plant Protection Department, to reduce losses for farmers, state management agencies need to take measures to educate traders so that they can protect the Dalat potato brand; continue to popularize product classification methods. Next, it is necessary to be transparent and clearly state Dalat products when selling, including retailers. On that basis, it will help specialized agencies to monitor and inspect.

“In the immediate future, we should quickly carry out labeling on some products that are facing strong competition. Small traders must also commit to doing so. After they commit, we will apply sanctions,” Mr. Hung raised the issue.

Currently, Da Lat authorities still maintain regular inspections of documents and agricultural product quality at wholesale markets and large agricultural warehouses every month. "If there is a 'problem', they will conduct a surprise inspection. Now they do it very openly, when asked why they mix the soil, they say: to make the potatoes have a beautiful color." - Mr. Hung said.

The “transformation” of Chinese potatoes into Dalat potatoes… is probably a long story in business ethics and management! Because, in the “path” Chinese potatoes (dyed with red soil) to the market are still Chinese potatoes - if the authorities check. Only when they reach consumers, do they suddenly “become” Dalat potatoes.

“Obviously, when potatoes “originate” from Da Lat to the market, that is the basis for them (business people - PV) to say “origin Da Lat”, but buyers do not know that they are Chinese potatoes, when they cannot distinguish” - Mr. Hung said.

To partly "vindicate" the Dalat agricultural product brand, recently, Lam Dong province authorities have stepped up efforts to disseminate ways to identify some specialties such as potatoes, strawberries, onions, etc. on websites and mass media.

However, the problem lies in: Which agency will closely monitor the “path” of Chinese potatoes from Da Lat to consumers, and from there take measures to limit them? That is the “bottleneck” that needs to be untied. “Because, if this phenomenon continues to happen again and again, I am afraid that… Da Lat farmers will no longer “follow” potatoes, because production is not profitable” - the Head of Lam Dong Plant Protection Department is skeptical.

Dalat potatoes are in trouble because of Chinese potatoes with unclear brands.

Chinese potatoes are easy to identify by their appearance, they are quite uniform in size, have smooth skin, and shallow eyes. Meanwhile, Da Lat potatoes are uneven, have thin skin, are often scratched, and have many deep dents. "In general, Chinese potatoes look very attractive, but when you eat them, you will see that the quality is much worse than Da Lat potatoes," said Mr. Hung.

According to NDĐT