Cua Lo farmers lose spring melon crop
(Baonghean.vn) - At this time, people in Cua Lo town are rushing to harvest spring melons to prepare for planting summer-autumn melons. This year, melon yields are low and prices have dropped, causing many households to lose their crops.
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| People of Nghi Huong ward (Cua Lo town) harvest melons. Photo: Quang An |
Every year, the yield of melons is 25-30 tons/ha, but this year the yield has decreased by 5-10 tons/ha. According to Ms. Vo Thi Thao in Block 10, Nghi Huong Ward, the harvest time (April) was rainy, so the melons cracked early before they were ripe, reducing the yield and quality of the fruit. This year, each sao of melons only earned about 6 million VND, down nearly half compared to previous years.
Not only has productivity decreased, but consumption has also been difficult. People said that every year, many traders come to the garden to buy, but this year there are only a few, so most of the harvested melons have to be sold retail.
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| This year's melons are small and cracked early due to heavy rain, reducing productivity and price. Photo: Quang An |
Ms. Ha, a trader in Cua Lo, said: Every year, melons are quite popular, especially during hot weather, but this year consumption has slowed down, partly because the melons have less pulp and the fruit quality has decreased, so consumers are picky.
Melons are not usually sold by weight like other fruits, but by the fruit; each fruit is currently sold in the field for only 5,000 - 7,000 VND (about 8,000 VND in 2017), if transported to Vinh City, it will be sold for 12,000 - 15,000 VND/fruit. The number of fruits that reach the price of 30,000 VND like previous seasons is very small.
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| Farmers in Nghi Huong ward carry melons to sell. Photo: Quang An |
Mr. Nguyen Hong Quang - Agricultural Officer of Nghi Huong Ward, Cua Lo Town said: Melon is the crop with the highest economic value in the locality, each hectare of melon brings in an income of over 200 million VND. However, this year due to heavy rain, the yield has decreased compared to 2017. Currently, there is no unit to consume this product, so people mainly bring it to retail at markets in the area and Vinh City, with unstable income.
Every year, Cua Lo melons are grown twice (harvested from the time after Tet to April and May and planted from May to July). Currently, people are preparing to plant a new crop of melons with the hope of a good harvest to save the spring melons./.
