Ginger prices fall, farmers in Nghe An highlands struggle to find sources of consumption

Ms. Va Y Chia in Buoc Mu 1 village, Na Ngoi commune, this year planted 700kg of ginger seeds on an area of ​​nearly 3 hectares. In the 2023 ginger crop, Ms. Y Chia had a decent income when the ginger was sold at a good price, and traders bought it in the village at an average price of 18,000 - 20,000 VND/kg. However, in the 2024 ginger season, Ms. Y Chia's nearly 3 hectares of ginger have not been harvested yet because they are waiting for buyers.

The largest ginger "granary" in Ky Son district is Na Ngoi commune. The entire Ky Son district has about 800 hectares of ginger, of which Na Ngoi has nearly 200 hectares. In previous years, Na Ngoi's ginger area was nearly 300 hectares. However, the ginger plantations here are decreasing due to the refrain "good harvest, low price". In 2024, Na Ngoi will only have 167 hectares of ginger. The leader of Na Ngoi commune People's Committee said that every year, the peak ginger harvest is from November to December, but now the year is over but the ginger plantations still have no buyers.

Ms. Vi Thi Oanh - President of the Women's Union of Na Ngoi commune said: In 2023, ginger was purchased by traders in the village at an average price of 18-20 thousand VND/ha. However, in 2024, only a few households were able to sell ginger at a price ranging from 10-14 thousand VND/kg.

In addition to Na Ngoi, some other communes of Ky Son district also have quite large ginger areas such as Tay Son about 30ha, Nam Can more than 30ha, Dooc May more than 25ha... In Dooc May commune, ginger growing areas are concentrated in Huoi Vieng and Noong Han villages. Mr. Lau Ba Tu in Huoi Vieng village said that the climate here is very suitable for growing ginger. This year, the ginger plants are growing well, giving a fairly high yield of tubers, but the price has dropped and there are no buyers. With the current price, people have almost no profit because Dooc May commune is nearly 60km from the district center, the transportation distance is long, and the cost is expensive.

In Nam Can commune, Mr. Ho Ba Po - Chairman of the Commune Farmers' Association also expressed that more than 30 hectares of ginger in Nam Can are currently experiencing a "stale" situation, with low selling prices, only about 10,000 VND/kg. If left for a few more months, the ginger in the fields will be at risk of being flooded, damaged, and losing quality.

Also in the same situation of "unsold" ginger, in Tay Son commune, Mr. Vu No Denh - Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said that even though 2024 has passed, Tay Son people have not been able to sell their ginger. The commune's ginger acreage is mainly concentrated in Dong Tren, Dong Duoi and Lu Thanh villages with a total of more than 30 hectares. According to the Ky Son District Agricultural Service Center, ginger growing areas in Tay Son and 3 other communes, Ta Ca, Muong Long and Dooc May, have all met the criteria of export enterprises.

Along with the advantage of geographical indications, Ky Son ginger has the potential to develop. However, the refrain of "good harvest, low price" still heavily affects the potential of this specialty crop. This is also one of the reasons why many households are not interested in growing ginger, some have switched to growing other crops or only grow to serve family needs. For example, in Muong Long commune, Mr. Vu Ba Xu - Vice Chairman of the Commune People's Committee said that currently, the ginger area in Muong Long is very small, there is no specialized ginger growing area to serve the market and households grow mainly for family use.

In the highland villages of Tuong Duong and Que Phong, where many Mong people live, people also grow ginger, but the output and area are not large. In Tam Hop commune, Tuong Duong district, ginger is mainly grown in Huoi Son and Pha Lom villages. However, according to officials of Tam Hop commune People's Committee, for the past 3 years, the area of ​​ginger in the commune has been continuously decreasing, partly because of unstable prices, partly because people have switched to growing turmeric. Because turmeric has a more stable output when the Youth Union 9 buys and processes it.

In Ky Son district, the enterprise that consumes ginger for people is mainly Huong Son Agricultural Services and Handicraft Cooperative with an average annual purchase volume of about 1,000 tons. However, according to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Truong - Head of the district's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, this cooperative is currently temporarily suspended due to personnel reasons. Faced with the backlog of ginger, the department's leaders as well as the district People's Committee's leaders have also contacted and connected enterprises to purchase ginger for people, but still "encountered difficulties" when large-scale companies only purchase ginger through one source, a reputable cooperative with requirements on quality, origin, ensuring no other impurities and even pre-processing.

As for small local production facilities in the province, they also rarely purchase directly from households, but mainly through traders. For example, some ginger juice, ginger candy, and ginger jam production facilities in districts such as Anh Son and Do Luong also purchase ginger through the contacts of some traders. The owner of a ginger juice production facility in Anh Son district said that by December 2024, the facility had almost purchased enough quantity for the production plan to serve the Lunar New Year, so it is not purchasing any more.