Nghe An: Chayote prices 'increase', farmers hope to recover capital

Like previous years, this season, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong's family in Dai Dong hamlet, Quynh Lien commune planted 5 sao of chayote. Around the 7th lunar month, her family gathered their workforce to renovate the fields, prepare the soil and plant seeds. After 4 months of planting and caring, by the 11th lunar month, the family's lush chayote garden began to yield fruit, the harvest period lasting for 5-6 months.

Chayote is a major crop in Hoang Mai. Photo: Viet Hung

Chi Huong said that at the time of harvest, traders bought chayote at a high price, sometimes up to 7,000 VND/kg; however, after about a month, the price started to decrease; especially before Tet, the price was only 300 VND/kg. Because the purchase price was too cheap, there was no profit, so people had to pick and leave it in the field.

“About 3-4 days ago, the pricechayotefrom 300 VND/kg has increased slightly to 1,000 VND/kg. With 5 sao of chayote, if the price stays at 1,000 VND until the end of the season, the family will be lucky to only cover the initial cost, not counting the labor for the entire 6 months of care," said Ms. Huong.

The entire Quynh Lien commune has about 300 hectares of specialized vegetable cultivation, of which about 60-70 hectares of chayote are harvested from the 11th lunar month until the end of April of the following year. To avoid the situation of good harvest and low price, this year, people in Quynh Lien commune have reduced the area of ​​chayote cultivation by about 30% of the total area.

Farmers in Quynh Lien (Hoang Mai town) harvest chayote. Photo: Viet Hung

However, at first, the price increased but then gradually decreased and at present the price is 1,000 VND/kg. According to farmers, if the price remains at this level and can increase, after the end of the season, growers will only have enough to cover the initial costs.

Ms. Le Thi Hoa - a chayote grower in Quynh Lien commune shared: “Cha su is an easy plant to grow and care for, however, it also requires a lot of work. On average, if 1 sao of chayote is purchased at 4,000 - 5,000 VND/kg, people will earn a profit of 15 million VND/sao; however, before and after Tet until now, the purchase price has hit rock bottom, so hopefully this crop, people will only have enough capital to invest, not daring to think about whether there will be a profit or not.”

For a long time, Quynh Lien chayote has been favored by the market in the North. Every day, the sources collect over 100 tons of chayote to transport out.Hanoiconsumption. Currently, Quynh Lien chayote has reached 3 wholesale markets: Dich Vong, Long Bien, Thuong Tin (Hanoi).

The Quynh Lien commune’s chayote products have been granted a collective trademark certificate by the Intellectual Property Office since 2016. However, for many years, Quynh Lien chayote has been in a state of “good harvest, low price”, even many years of stagnation, having to be rescued, and chayote growers’ income is not high. Therefore, local authorities are focusing on directing people to proactively adapt to production conditions.

Mr. Ho Ngoc Tang - Chairman of Quynh Lien Commune People's Committee said: In the coming time, the locality will promote the conversion of some ineffective chayote growing areas to growing carrots and other valuable vegetables to increase income; besides, it will increase the search for chayote consumption markets.