Mountain farmers "in debt" because of falling prices of squash and pumpkin

This year, Nghia Dan district people planted more than 170 hectares of green squash and pumpkin. At the beginning of the harvest season, the price of green squash fluctuated from 8,000 to 15,000 VND/kg. Currently, the price has dropped 4-5 times to only 1,500 to 2,000 VND/kg, but few people buy it.

This year, farmers in Nghia Dan district have flocked to grow squash and pumpkin on an area of ​​up to 170 hectares. Photo: Minh Thai

In Nghia Lam commune these days, green squash and pumpkins are piled up in gardens and warehouses. People don't even harvest them, leaving them to rot in the garden and don't bother to take them home. The reason is that the price has dropped too low.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen in Bac Lam hamlet, this year her family planted 8 hectares, and has only harvested a small portion so far. The main crop price is too low, not enough to cover the loan of several tens of millions of dong for planting and caring for squash. Not only that, the sunny weather combined with erratic rain has caused some of her family's green and red squash areas to start rotting. "I see that other people can do it, so I follow suit. This year's prices are very unstable, a total loss. I'm worried that I won't be able to repay the bank," Ms. Huyen said sadly.

In a similar situation to Ms. Huyen's family, Mr. Le Khac Tu's family in Lang Nham, Nghia Yen commune, this year invested 30 million VND to renovate and grow more than 1 hectare of green squash and pumpkin on the previous watermelon area. With this area like last year, his family harvested nearly 15 tons of fruit/ha of squash grown in 2 crops, earning about 60 million VND. However, this year, with the same area, minus labor, fertilizer, pesticides, harvesting and transportation costs, he calculated a loss of nearly half.

Harvested pumpkins pile up in the fields but cannot be sold. Photo: Minh Thai

The continuous fall in pumpkin prices has left many farmers in dire straits. At markets in Thai Hoa district and town, there are many pumpkins for sale, but few buyers. Ms. Vo Thi Kien, a small trader, said: "Never before has the pumpkin price been so cheap. The market price is only a few thousand per kilo, but in the garden where pumpkins are grown, they are sold for less than duckweed."

Without timely intervention, farmers will spontaneously switch, leading to a situation where good harvests lead to low prices and bad harvests lead to high prices. This paradox is pushing farmers into a path with no way out.