Carrot prices doubled, Nam Dan farmers still sad because of crop failure

Carrot prices have increased sharply, but due to crop failure, Nam Dan farmers still suffer losses. Photo: Diep Phuong

This is the fourth year that Mr. Nguyen Van Hung in Hamlet 6, Nam Tan Commune (Nam Dan) has grown winter carrots. Mr. Hung said: “There has never been a year with a bad carrot crop like this year. Last year, my 3 sao of carrots yielded nearly 1 ton/sao, with a price of 10,000 VND/kg sold at the field, I earned a profit of over 10 million VND. This year, the yield only reached 3 quintals/sao. On top of that, it was difficult to sow, I had to sow the seeds for the third time to succeed, after deducting production costs, the profit was not enough.”

Not only Mr. Hung's family, many carrot growers in Nam Tan commune are in the same situation. Ms. Tran Thi Loan in Hamlet 5, Nam Tan commune said: "Although the selling price is almost double (last year 10,000 VND/kg, this year 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg), this year's carrot yield is low so the harvest is still a failure. My family grows 2 sao of carrots but lost 1 sao, the profit is not worth the effort of taking care of them for 3 months. The reason for the crop failure is due to erratic weather, heavy rain leading to the tubers rising above the ground, partly rotting, partly due to damage by rats".

Due to low yields, carrot growers say it is not worth the effort to care for them. Photo: Diep Phuong

This year, Nam Tan commune (Nam Dan) planted more than 3 hectares of winter carrots. Carrots are usually planted from the 9th lunar month and can be harvested after about 3 months. Nam Tan carrots are often favored by consumers, sold at high prices, and have high profits; however, this year, people lost their crops because the carrot crop failed.