Nghe An: Pumpkin prices drop sharply, farmers harvest sparingly

Tien Dong• April 16, 2021 15:42

(Baonghean.vn) - This spring, farmers in Anh Son district (Nghe An) planted a lot of pumpkins (also known as gourd squash). Although the yield was high, the fluctuating price of pumpkins forced people to harvest sparingly.

Spring crop 2021 district-wideMr. Son, planted 337 hectares of pumpkin and squash, mainly concentrated in communes along Lam River such as: Dinh Son 17 hectares, Cam Son 20 hectares, Tuong Son 40 hectares, Hoa Son 25 hectares, Phuc Son 30 hectares, Linh Son 20 hectares, Tho Son 40 hectares.

This is the time of pumpkin harvest, although the yield is high, from 1.5 to 2 tons/ha, however, compared to the previous time, the price of pumpkin is now very low. Previously, each kg of pumpkin sold by people in the field cost from 10,000-15,000 VND/kg depending on the quality but only reached 3,000-5,000 VND/kg.

Thời điểm hiện tại, do giá bí xuống thấp nên người dân chỉ dám thu hoạch cầm chừng. Ảnh: Tiến Đông

Due to low pumpkin prices, people only dare to harvest sparingly. Photo: Tien Dong

Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang's house in Hoi Lam hamlet, Cam Son commune, this year planted more than 3 sao of pumpkin. Although it does not require much care, like other spring vegetables and fruits, this year's pumpkin price is very low, only 3,000 VND/kg. At times, it even drops lower, traders try to force down the price so people only harvest in small quantities.

Mỗi sào bí đỏ chi phí giống, phân bón người dân bỏ ra gần 1 triệu đồng, chưa kể công chăm sóc và tiền thuê người thu hoạch, do giá bí xuống thấp nên người nông dân gặp nhiều khó khăn. Ảnh: Tiến Đông

For each sao of pumpkin, farmers spend nearly 1 million VND on seeds and fertilizer, not to mention the cost of care and hiring people to harvest. Currently, due to the low price of pumpkin, farmers are facing many difficulties. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Hoang Manh Ha, head of Hoi Lam hamlet, Cam Son commune, said: The whole Hoi Lam hamlet has about 50 households growing pumpkins, this is a high-yielding pumpkin variety, the time from planting to harvesting is 3 months. Mr. Ha's family also produces 3 sao, the cost of seeds and fertilizer for each sao is nearly 1 million VND, not including the cost of care within 3 months and the cost of hiring people to harvest. If the pumpkin price is stable, each sao will also bring in an income of nearly 10 million VND. However, recently, the price of pumpkin has dropped, making it very difficult for farmers.

Mr. Ha said that because pumpkins can be left in the field longer than other crops, when pumpkin prices are low, people can harvest sparingly and wait for prices to rise.

Do giá bí lên xuống thất thường nên người nông dân không dám thu hoạch đại trà. Ảnh: Tiến Đông

People harvest pumpkins and gather them along Highway 7A, where traders will come to buy them. Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Dang Dinh Luan - Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Anh Son district said: Normally at the beginning of each crop, purchasing facilities still come to discuss signing a contract with the people, but because the contract price is low, the people do not agree and accept the market price.

Regarding planning, Mr. Luan said that the district has also planned vegetable growing areas on alluvial land, and regularly provides technical guidance to farmers, thereby gradually improving production efficiency, bringing higher income on the same area than before.