Chili prices drop sharply, but farmers in Dien Chau district still make big profits
(Baonghean.vn) - The growing area has increased sharply, the yield is high, so even though the price of chili has decreased sharply, only half compared to the beginning of the season, farmers in Dien Phong commune (Dien Chau) are still excited to stick to the fields to harvest. Because for each hectare of chili, people still have an income of about 150 million VND.
Growing 3 sao of chili, Ms. Hoang Thi Dien in Nha Nghi hamlet, Dien Phong commune is very excited that this year, the chili yield is up to 30 tons/ha. In particular, this year, chili plants have few pests and diseases, so care is easy, less labor-intensive, and investment costs are also lower. Currently, chili plants are in full harvest, chili prices have dropped sharply, only 40% compared to last year and 4,000-5,000 VND/kg lower than at the beginning of the season.
Ms. Dien said: Last year, the price of chili at this time was 9,000-10,000 VND/kg of green chili, 13,000-15,000 VND/kg of ripe chili, but now the price of green chili is only 4,000 VND/kg, ripe chili is 5,000 VND/kg. Prices fluctuate according to the general market, but with this price, people still make a profit. Despite the low price, people are still excited because they have a stable output, the cooperative and associated businesses buy all the chili harvested.
Compared to 2023, this year, the chili acreage in Dien Phong commune has doubled, from 10 hectares to 21 hectares with 106 chili growing households. Growers also introduced new varieties into production, applied plastic covering techniques, and furrow irrigation to retain moisture for a long time, increasing the efficiency of fertilizer use.
At the same time, with proper care as instructed by the company, during the growth of the chili plant, pruning, trellis making, fertilization, etc. are invested by the people. Thanks to that, the chili plant yield has increased sharply, estimated at about 30 tons/ha, even some households with good care have a yield of 35-37 tons/ha.
At the beginning of the season, the price of green chili was about 9,000 VND/kg, ripe chili was 10,000 VND/kg, many households have earned 10 million VND/sao up to this point.
“This year, many localities in other provinces such as Son La, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai planted a lot of chili. Therefore, we tried to avoid harvesting at the same time as them. After Tet, when other places had not yet harvested, Dien Phong commune started the harvest season. Chili prices were high at that time, so people made a big profit. Now the price of chili has dropped sharply, but the chili output is not much. Moreover, if we harvest all the crops, it will take until July to finish the chili season, so people still hope that the chili price will increase at the end of the season,” said Mr. Que Van Duyen, Director of Dien Phong Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative.
According to calculations, with the price at the beginning of the season being 9,000-10,000 VND/kg and now 4,000-5,000 VND/kg, each hectare of chili also brings in an income of 200 million VND/ha, after deducting expenses, the profit is still about 120-140 million VND/ha. Compared to other crops, chili still brings outstanding economic efficiency.
Despite expanding the area, the cooperative has done a good job of connecting businesses with farmers, and has been fully guaranteed at market prices. “While in Dai Loc (Quang Nam) or some localities such as Quang Ngai, people are in dire straits as chili prices have dropped sharply, with no traders to buy the chili peppers so they are left in the fields, in Dien Phong commune, all chili peppers harvested are guaranteed to be sold, with no backlog,” Mr. Duyen added.
It is worth noting that the cooperative as well as the people apply digital transformation to production very actively and promptly. The cooperative and chili growers have set up a common Zalo group, all information about chili plants: varieties, fertilizers, care techniques, growth process at each stage, pests and diseases... are updated on the group. Especially, during the harvest season, market developments and daily price fluctuations are promptly and widely informed to growers.
Therefore, people have full information, depending on the time to harvest most profitably. See when to pick ripe chili, when to import green chili...
Or like on March 28, when the extreme weather conditions were predicted, with thunderstorms and hail expected in the evening, the cooperative immediately notified the group and mobilized people to harvest the ripe chili peppers. Thanks to that, 10 tons of ripe chili peppers were harvested before the storm, avoiding major damage.
