Prices nearly doubled, but Nam Dan galangal growers are only half happy.

Easy to grow, low investment, billions in income

Taking advantage of the sunny weather before the monsoon season arrives, Mr. Dinh Xuan Ha and his wife in Phong Son hamlet are actively harvesting all the galangal tubers in the garden.

Mr. Ha said that his family has been growing galangal for more than 10 years. In recent years, many households in the area have lost interest in galangal, but his family still maintains it.

"My wife and I do nothing but grow galangal, so whether galangal is expensive or cheap, we still grow it," said Mr. Ha.

People harvest galangal in Nam Hung commune. Photo: Huy Thu

According to Mr. Ha, growing galangal does not cost much, planting once can be harvested many times. Each time you harvest, leave a clump of galangal with a few branches, add NPK fertilizer and manure to help the plant continue to grow, and harvest again a few months later. You can harvest 2-3 times a year.

However, harvesting galangal requires a lot of effort and must go through many stages to produce finished galangal tubers. Usually, men and boys are in charge of digging, while women will cut the plants, select the tubers, wash, cut the roots, etc. Digging galangal is quite tiring because you use a hoe to dig deep around the galangal bush. Once you dig up a bush, you fertilize and mound the roots. Each day, a person can only dig up 20 - 40kg of tubers.

Not only do they grow galangal for sale, Mr. Ha and his wife also provide purchasing services for households in the neighborhood. Every day, local people often bring galangal to his house to wash, cut the roots, and import.

To serve his family and other households, he bought a pump and a spray nozzle to wash the galangal. According to Mr. Ha, only a strong water spray nozzle can wash the galangal cleanly and quickly. After washing, people will use knives and scissors to cut the roots and remove damaged parts. This is a meticulous job that requires the skillful hands of women.

Each year, galangal can be harvested 2-3 times. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai (63 years old) - a resident of Phong Son hamlet is cutting galangal roots at Mr. Ha's house and said: This year, her family planted 3 sao both in the garden and in the field; Currently, they have only harvested in the garden.

According to Ms. Hai, productivity and quality depend a lot on the soil and fertilization... Galangal is a plant that is not picky about soil and can be grown on many different types of soil.

Loam soil is a bit difficult to grow but produces large, bright galangal tubers. Sandy soil is easy to grow, but the galangal tubers are a bit dark. On hilly land, galangal still grows and develops well, but requires a lot of care. To grow galangal with high yield, it must be grown on fertile soil. On average, each sao of galangal yields about 2 tons of tubers.

Currently, Nam Hung commune has many hamlets growing galangal, of which Phong Son is the hamlet with the largest area. The whole hamlet has 80 households growing, the smallest households grow 1-2 sao, the largest households grow 5-6 sao. The households that grow a lot of galangal in the hamlet are the families of Mr. Pham Ba Viet, Vo Trong Ky, Nguyen Quang Huy... On average, each household grows 3 sao, this year Phong Son hamlet has 240 sao of galangal for harvest.

Wash galangal roots with a water spray to ensure clean and fast results. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Ba Ngo - Head of the Farmers' Association of the hamlet shared: Each sao of galangal yields about 2 tons of tubers, with the current price of 10,000 VND/kg, it can be sold for 20 million VND. Compared to many other crops such as lemongrass, corn, peanuts..., in Phong Son hamlet, galangal is still an easy-to-grow crop, requires little investment, and in years when the price is good, it also brings in billions of dong in income.

Galangal price increases, farmers are only partly happy

Galangal has been present in Nam Hung for decades. When commercial galangal was first grown by some households, the price was relatively high, sometimes up to 20,000 VND/kg. In order to help each other in labor and reduce production investment costs, people in Nam Hung commune established cooperatives and labor exchange groups in hamlets to support each other in growing and harvesting galangal.

Some households also buy galangal for local people. After harvesting, people can sell it to buyers in the hamlet or transport it to Xuan Hoa commune (Nam Dan) or to Do Luong new market to buy at a higher price.

Prices increase, Nam Hung galangal growers are secretly happy. Photo: Huy Thu

When the movement of growing galangal in Nam Hung was promoted, in gardens and fields everywhere, this “dragon root” plant was no longer valuable. From 20,000 VND/kg, it dropped to 10,000 VND/kg and then to 5,000 VND/kg.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai in Phong Son hamlet added that when galangal is cheap, buyers are very picky, only buying young roots. Each sao of galangal can harvest at most 500 kg of young roots in a year. After that, people buy old roots, but only get 2/3 of the price.

In the period of 2019 - 2021, the price of galangal dropped to 5,000 VND/kg. Especially in 2021, due to the epidemic, galangal both fell in price and was unsold, forcing many households to cut it down and switch to growing other crops; Some others took a "risk" and left the old galangal in the field, waiting for the price to increase before harvesting. This year, households that left the old galangal won because they sold it at a good price.

After digging, the galangal is washed and all the roots are cut off. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien (37 years old), a farmer who grows a lot of galangal in Cao Son hamlet, said: This year, her family grows 7 sao of land about 1km from her house. If all is harvested, there will be 14 tons, bringing in about 140 million VND in revenue. According to Ms. Hien, the purchase price has increased for about 2-3 months now. Although the price of galangal has nearly doubled compared to the beginning of the year, people who grow galangal are still not very happy, happy halfway, both happy and worried.

According to the people, they are “half happy” for two reasons. First, the price has increased, but the growers do not have much galangal to sell. Currently, some households have almost finished harvesting their galangal area. Second, this year the price of galangal has increased, if next year, many households return to grow galangal, expand the area… the price will drop, and the crop will be unsold again.

Good quality galangal must be large, bright in color and fragrant. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Duy Viet - Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Nam Hung Commune shared: Due to the suitability with the local climate and soil, galangal in Nam Hung grows well and gives high yield. In recent times, the locality has also encouraged people to grow galangal, in order to take advantage of and exploit the potential of hilly and fertile land to increase income. However, the output of galangal is quite unstable, largely dependent on traders.

Unstable prices and lack of stable output seem to be common concerns for galangal growers in Nam Hung. When the price is good, galangal brings in a significant income. When the price drops and sales are sluggish, galangal becomes a “burden” for farmers who “work but have no food”, or more accurately, after deducting expenses, the labor day does not earn much. Therefore, learning from previous years, galangal prices are now increasing, but whether or not the area for growing galangal can be expanded is a problem for local people.