Scallions in Nghe An double in price

Compared to a month ago, the price of green onions has increased sharply, from 6,000 VND to 11,000 - 12,000 VND/kg. Farmers in the coastal area of ​​Quynh Luu are excited because onions are in season, have good prices and are easy to sell...

With nearly 30 years of experience in growing vegetables, during the hot season, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan's family (Quynh Minh, Quynh Luu) switched from growing vegetables to growing scallions. At this time, the price of onions increased sharply, traders bought at the field at high prices, so she was very excited. Ms. Loan said: "If in early April, the price of onions only fluctuated between 5,000 - 6,000 VND/kg, from mid-May until now, the price of onions has increased, up to 10,000 - 12,000 VND/kg. With this price, onion growers have high profits."

Currently, the entire Quynh Minh commune has 100 hectares of onions with 1,050 households growing them, with an annual onion output of nearly 8,000 tons. Scallions are the main crop in the locality. There were years when onion prices dropped, hitting rock bottom at only 1,500 - 2,000 VND/kg. However, in the past 2 years, onion prices have been stable, bringing a good income to the people.

“From March to October every year, people mainly grow green onions because this plant can withstand heat and high temperatures. When the price of onions is around 6,000 - 7,000 VND/kg, people make a profit. Currently, the price of onions is high, so people make a good profit. On average, each sao of onions brings in an income of 10-12 million VND/crop for 2 months of care,” said Mr. Le Van Dong - Deputy Director of the Quynh Minh Commune Salt Service Cooperative.

At this time, in the fields of Quynh Luong commune, farmers are also excitedly harvesting green onions. On sunny days, people are present in the fields from 1-2 am to harvest onions.

“Harvesting at night will keep the onions fresh longer, save the need to cover them, and keep up with orders for traders. However, at this stage, market demand is high and prices are good, so whenever there is an order, we go to the fields to harvest, and when it is sunny, we cover them with tarps and work through noon,” said Ho Thi Hue, a farmer in Quynh Luong commune.

The green onion variety in Quynh Luu is a native variety, with thick leaves, large tubes, a spicy, characteristic aroma, and is favored by markets inside and outside the province. Onions are a short-term crop, and in favorable weather conditions, about 50 days from planting and care are needed to start harvesting.

Scallions are easy to grow, have a quick rotation and crop rotation time. On average, people can grow 3-4 crops per year. The input costs for onions are not much while the income is high, so people are very excited.

“During the year, near Tet, the price of onions is at its highest, up to 20,000 VND/kg, the rest usually fluctuates around 6-8,000 VND/kg. However, in the winter crop, the weather is unfavorable, the onion plants are poorly developed, so the price of onions is high but the yield is low, the income per unit area also decreases. This summer crop, onions have a good harvest and good price, so some households grow a lot, earning hundreds of millions of VND/crop,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Tue - Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luong Commune (Quynh Luu).

Nghe An's green onion consumption market is quite large, stretching from North to South, mainly concentrated in the Central provinces and Hanoi. Currently, the whole province has about 900 hectares of onion cultivation, most concentrated in the coastal communes of Quynh Luu such as: Quynh Minh, Quynh Luong, Quynh Bang, Quynh Van, Quynh Thach, Tan Son... The annual onion output is about 15,000 tons. With the current high onion prices, after deducting costs, each hectare brings in an income of about 180 million VND/crop.

Among the crops, green onions bring the best income. They are easy to care for, have few pests and diseases and the input costs are not high. Recently, to improve the productivity and quality of commercial onions, in addition to investing in automatic sprinkler irrigation systems and fertilizing with automatic underground systems, cooperatives have built VietGAP onion growing areas and organic farming.

At the same time, connect with the system of traders and consumption sources so that onions have stable output. At the same time, arrange to plant in scattered and overlapping crops to have a supply for the market all year round.