Tan Ky farmers have 2,000 tons of turmeric unsold.

Ky Tan Commune is a locality with a large area of ​​turmeric cultivation in Tan Ky District. Local people said that most of the garden land is planted with turmeric but has not been harvested because it is difficult to sell. According to Ms. Hoang Thi Lan in Hamlet 5, her family grows 3 sao of turmeric every year. If last year in March, this area brought in a revenue of more than 30 million VND, this year, up to this point, it has not been sold. Meanwhile, the investment cost of buying seeds, fertilizers and buying corn to cover the roots of 3 sao of turmeric is calculated at more than 10 million VND, not including the care.

Since no customers have come to buy, Ms. Lan has harvested a portion to make turmeric starch for family use.

Ms. Hoang Thi Lan in Hamlet 5, Ky Tan Commune (Tan Ky District) grows 3 sao of turmeric; it is now harvest time but there are no buyers. Photo: Cam Tu

In early 2017, Mr. Tran Van Hung - the head of hamlet 6, Ky Tan commune invested in renovating garden land and hillside land to grow 0.5 hectares of turmeric, at a cost of nearly 50 million VND. Expecting to have a good income from turmeric, unexpectedly, it has been a month since harvest time but there are still no traders asking to buy.

Mr. Hung said that only a few households in the village could sell turmeric for 700,000 VND/quintal, while last year it was 1.5 million VND/quintal. If they harvested and sold it at the current price, they would not make a profit, and they would also have to pay workers to harvest. Therefore, people left the turmeric in the field for a second crop.; gNow we want businesses to buy to create output for people.

Difficult to consume, people harvest to process starch. Photo: Cam Tu

In 2017, the 50-hectare turmeric growing area brought in an income of more than 11 billion VND, so Tan Ky people were excited to invest in expanding the area to 100 hectares with an estimated output of 2,000 tons. Not only Ky Tan commune but also Tan Hop, Giai Xuan, Nghia Dung, Nghia Hop, Nghia Binh, Nghia Hoan communes, people grow turmeric everywhere from the garden to the fields, on the hillsides and intercropping in some fruit tree areas.

Through discussions with local people, it is known that this year turmeric is difficult to sell and the price is low due to the influence of rainy weather, so the starch content in turmeric is lower than in previous years. If last year 1 quintal of fresh turmeric could be processed into 6kg of turmeric essence, this year it is only 3kg. Moreover, many localities in the province also grow turmeric, "supply exceeds demand" so it is difficult to consume. Although in Tan Ky district there are dozens of households processing turmeric starch, but with small scale and manual, consumption has not met the actual needs of the locality.

Some households harvest turmeric to make their own starch. Photo: Cam Tu

Mr. Tran Tu Ba - Vice President of Tan Ky District Gardening Association said, in the face of that situation, the Association made recommendations, drawing on experience from years of heavy rain, to choose high, dry land for planting, with a good drainage system and not to plant massively; in 2018, the area should not be expanded; turmeric needs to be harvested when it is due to free up land for planting other crops.

The situation of agricultural products being difficult to sell and having low prices has been going on for a long time in the agricultural sector and is a difficult problem to solve, causing great losses to farmers. Therefore, Tan Ky people need to consider carefully in the 2018 turmeric growing season, avoiding the situation of massive planting when the output for agricultural products is not stable as it is now.

Cam Tu