Pumpkin prices are lower than last year, but growers still make a profit
(Baonghean.vn) - Compared to the same period last year, the price of green squash this year has dropped sharply, currently fluctuating between 5,000-7,000 VND/kg (this time last year it was 20,000-22,000 VND/kg). Because the price of squash is low, many households are not in a hurry to harvest, or are looking for ways to preserve it, waiting for the price to increase.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung (Duc Son commune, Anh Son district) grows more than 4 sao of green squash, which is now ready for harvest. Ms. Dung said: If we harvest all this crop, we will get about 5 tons of squash. Compared to last year, the price of squash this year is only one-third. The yield has also decreased, making it more difficult to sell. In the past few days, I have contacted and connected with traders in various places to sell squash, but they offered quite low prices, so the squash is still "lying in the field" and has not been harvested.
Growing 5 sao of squash, harvesting sporadically since Tet until now, Mr. Nguyen Van Dai (Thanh Xuan commune, Thanh Chuong district) still did not think that the price of squash this season would be so low and last so long. If last year, the price of squash in the field was up to 17,000-18,000 VND/kg, even at times up to 20,000-22,000 VND/kg, traders competed to buy, then at this time, the price of squash sometimes dropped to 3,500 VND/kg, at the highest it was only 7,000 VND/kg.
“While harvesting and waiting for prices to increase, squash prices have remained low for over a month now. Normally, winter-spring squash has a good harvest and good prices. This year is the opposite, with lower yields, lower prices, and difficulty in selling. Therefore, I cut the squash that is too old and store it in storage, waiting for prices to increase. Other squash are “hanging on the trellis” and are not yet ready to harvest,” said Mr. Dai.
Last winter-spring crop, squash growers in Thanh Chuong district earned a net profit of 25 million VND/sao, with some households growing large areas earning billions. This year, people in many localities have converted their winter crop land from growing vegetables, sweet potatoes, and corn to growing squash. However, the market has fluctuated, and squash prices have been quite low since the beginning of the season.
“In the winter-spring crop, the supply of squash on the market is usually more limited due to the harsher weather in the northern provinces, and people plant fewer seeds, so prices are often higher than in other crops. However, this year, when the weather is warmer, the northern provinces also plant more. Because last year the price of squash hit a peak, many households growing squash made billions of dollars in profits, so in some places people “exploded” the area, leading to supply exceeding demand. It is understandable that when the market is saturated, squash prices will drop,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Van, a trader specializing in buying green squash in Do Luong district.
Pumpkin is considered the main winter crop in Nghe An, with good productivity and economic efficiency many times higher than other crops on the same area. However, pumpkin prices fluctuate erratically, some years they increase to the floor but other years they "hit rock bottom".
To adapt to that, people have learned how to survey the market, master the law of supply and demand to regulate the appropriate planting area, and know how to spread out the planting to avoid pressure on output. In addition, people have also learned to connect with traders and pumpkin buyers in other provinces to find output for pumpkin.
In Thuong Tan Loc commune (Nam Dan), people grow 16 hectares of pumpkin, and after Tet, people have just harvested the first crop. Pumpkin yield is 2.2-2.4 tons/sao. Ms. Phan Thi Trang, Chairwoman of the Farmers' Association of Thuong Tan Loc commune, said: "The price of pumpkin is much lower than in previous years, but people are used to the fluctuating price of pumpkin. There were years when it was only 2,000-3,000 VND/kg. This year, the price of pumpkin in the field is 5,000-7,000 VND/kg, although the price is not as expected, compared to other crops, it is still profitable."
According to calculations, 1 sao of squash costs 6 million VND, not to mention the cost of care, hiring workers for pollination, harvesting... if the price of squash is 5,000-7,000 VND/kg, the yield is 2.4 tons/sao, people earn about 15-17 million VND after 2.5 months of care. Therefore, people still make a profit and compared to other crops, squash is still more economically efficient.
