Green squash prices increase dramatically, Nghe An farmers 'win big'

This winter-spring crop, Thanh Chuong district planted 50 hectares of squash, of which 30 hectares belong to a production linkage project associated with product consumption. Photo: Thanh Phuc

If last year, the price of pumpkin "hit rock bottom" at only 2,000-3,000 VND/kg but still could not be consumed, this year's pumpkin crop, the price of pumpkin "hit the floor" at times up to 22,000 VND/kg, making people very excited.

Mr. Nguyen Phung Nam (Truong Xuan hamlet, Xuan Tuong commune, Thanh Chuong) planted 6 sao of squash, harvesting from before Tet until now. With a yield of 2.2 tons/sao, the price of squash fluctuates from 12,000-22,000 VND/kg (depending on the time), bringing Mr. Nam a revenue of 200 million VND. "Each sao, after deducting costs, still has a profit of 20-22 million VND/sao, ten times higher than other crops," Mr. Nam shared.

Thanh Chuong green squash has a good harvest, with productivity ranging from 2.2-2.4 tons/sao. Photo: Thanh Phuc

On the morning of February 25, in the pumpkin field in Thuan Hoa hamlet, Thanh Hoa commune (Thanh Chuong), people were busy harvesting the first batch of pumpkins, traders brought large trucks to the fields to buy. If yesterday, the price of pumpkins was at 16,000 VND/kg, then this morning, the price of pumpkins "jumped" to 17,500 VND/kg, so people were very happy. This is the third year of growing green pumpkins, but this is the first year that pumpkins have both a good harvest and a good price like this year.

Having just weighed the pumpkins to sell to traders and collected “fresh money” right in the field, Mr. Nguyen Ba Hai, Thuan Hoa hamlet happily said: “3 sao of pumpkins, more than 7 tons of both good and bad fruits, imported directly to traders in the field, earning 120 million VND. After deducting all expenses, I still “pocketed” nearly 100 million VND. It was really beyond expectations”.

Pumpkins are purchased by traders right in the field at high prices. Photo: Thanh Phuc

This is the first year that squash has found its way to Thanh Nho. On an area of ​​3.5 hectares, the yield ranges from 2.0 to 2.2 tons per sao, and the current price of squash is increasing, helping local people earn a good income. Mr. Le Dinh Hung, Chairman of the Thanh Nho Commune Farmers' Association, said: "I am very excited because the first squash crop was very successful in both yield and price. Especially, as soon as the squash is harvested, traders buy it all, without any unsold products."

This winter-spring crop, Thanh Chuong district planted 50 hectares of squash, of which 30 hectares belonged to the production linkage project associated with the consumption of squash products of the district. Accordingly, the project was implemented in 14 communes, with the participation of 171 households, concentrated in the communes of Thanh Linh, Thanh Hoa, Thanh Nho, Thanh Duong...

Households participating in the project are supported by the District People's Committee with input materials (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides), are guided by the Agricultural Service Center on planting techniques, care, pest control, and together with local agricultural service cooperatives, link up with purchasing agents, and commit to purchasing products for the people.

The District People's Committee and related departments and agencies have actively accompanied people in this year's squash crop. Photo: CSCC

Mr. Le Van Quang - Director of Thanh Chuong District Agricultural Service Center said: "Implementing this project, from the beginning, the planting of squash has been specifically planned, with areas for each household and each locality. In addition, the planting, care and harvesting strictly follow the correct techniques and processes, so the squash has a high yield. In particular, the Center has coordinated with cooperatives in the localities to find and connect with squash purchasing sources, committing to purchasing products for people at market prices."

Not only in Thanh Chuong but also in localities such as Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Do Luong, Anh Son... people are also harvesting pumpkins. Currently, the price of pumpkins purchased at the field is fluctuating from 16,000-18,000 VND/kg, 6-7 times higher than last year, the pumpkin yield is also higher than every year, helping farmers have a significant source of income.

Pumpkin harvest is good, price is good, farmers earn 20-22 million VND/sao after 3 months of care. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The reason why pumpkin prices are high is because this pumpkin crop, in the northern provinces, the weather is cold and harsh, so pumpkin growing is unfavorable, productivity has decreased sharply. On the other hand, last year, due to the Covid-19 epidemic, green pumpkins were difficult to sell, prices hit rock bottom, farmers suffered losses and had to call for rescue, so in many places, people are not interested in pumpkins, making the supply not as abundant as before. Meanwhile, market demand increased, so pumpkin prices were pushed up.

In the 2022-2023 Winter-Spring crop, the whole province will plant more than 2,670 hectares of green squash, with an estimated yield of 2.2-2.4 tons/sao, and an estimated squash output of nearly 65,000 tons. With the current squash price, people will make a profit of 20-22 million VND/sao, and many households with large areas of hectares will earn billions of dong in this squash crop.

Product consumption linkage is very important in agricultural commodity production. Photo: Thanh Phuc

It is worth noting that many localities have done a good job of planning commercial squash areas; introducing high-yield, high-quality squash varieties into production and effectively linking product consumption, resulting in high squash productivity, stable consumption and high selling prices.

Thanh Phuc