Anh Son squash in season, price is 'as cheap as free'

In the vegetable fields in Cam Son commune, despite the hot weather, farmers are actively harvesting the squash crop. Piles of squash are neatly arranged and stacked in long rows waiting outside the fields. If in previous years, this time of year was bustling with people picking and buying right at the foot of the fields, this year the atmosphere is very gloomy because the output is not favorable.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong's family in Hoi Lam village, Cam Son commune has a tradition of growing vegetables for more than 10 years. This summer-autumn crop, her family planted nearly 2 sao of squash. Ms. Huong said: "Growing squash does not require too much investment, and it is an easy-to-grow plant, so her family has been attached to this plant for a long time. After 45 days of planting,squashstarting to harvest daily, and can be harvested continuously for 3 - 4 months. With this area, last year on average her family harvested 60 - 80 kg of fruit per day, at peak times they harvested 120 kg of fruit, stable prices after deducting costs, each sao also gave Ms. Huong's family an income of 10 million VND.

People are very worried that traders cannot come to buy, so the consumption market is limited. Photo: Thai Hien

This year, thanks to favorable weather and steady rain, the squash grew well, bore fruit, and had high yields. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, traders could not come to buy, so the consumption market was limited, leading to prices dropping lower than previous years. Currently, the price of squash sold at the garden is only 2,000 VND/kg.

These days, people encourage each other to go to the fields to harvest, some of them are sold on the spot, some are posted on websites to recoup some of the initial capital. For example, today, her family harvested 7 tons of squash. If the price was the same as every year, her family would earn over 300,000 VND, but with the current purchase price, the family only gets over 100,000 VND, not worth the effort of harvesting. Ms. Huong is very worried because the price of squash will continue to decrease in the coming main season.

This year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang's family in Hoi Lam village, Cam Son commune, grew 1.5 sao of squash. Thanks to proper care and favorable weather, the squash had a good harvest. Seeing the lush fruit hanging on the trellis, they thought this year would be a big harvest, but unexpectedly, the price was only a few thousand dong, making the family reluctant to harvest.

Ms. Giang shared: In previous years, the lowest price during the main season was 5,000 VND/kg, but this year it dropped to 2,000 VND/kg even though it was just the beginning of the season. With this price during the main season, it will definitely continue to decrease.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang's family in Hoi Lam village, Cam Son commune, this year planted 1.5 sao of squash. Thanks to favorable weather and steady rain, the squash grew well, bore many fruits, and gave high yields. Photo: Thai Hien

The reason is due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, restaurants are closed, and small traders are not coming to buy. Now the squash is heavy on the trellis, it is a pity not to pick it, and once picked, it is also impossible to sell it. According to Ms. Giang, the characteristic of squash is that it ages very quickly, in the main season, it takes 1-2 days to harvest a batch, at this rate, Ms. Giang is very worried about selling the squash until the end of the season.

To sell all the products, farmers find their own outlets, bringing them to the market and posting them on websites to sell. Photo: Thai Hien

Mr. Hoang Manh Hung - Chairman of Cam Son Commune People's Committee said: The commune is the locality with the largest vegetable area in Anh Son district, with a variety of vegetables and fruits in each season. In the summer-autumn crop this year, farmers mainly grow squash, concentrated in Ha Du, Hoi Lam and 1/5 villages, with a total area of ​​7-8 hectares.

Like previous years, each sao of squash yields from 1.5 to 2 tons, each sao gives farmers an average of 8-10 million VND. This year, the squash crop is successful, the fruit is very abundant, but since the Covid-19 pandemic, people have started to get into the habit of producing clean vegetables at home, reducing spending. Moreover, due to the pandemic, traders who sell products to farmers do not come to buy, causing goods to not circulate./.