Quynh Lien (Hoang Mai Town): Chayote is priced at 200 VND/kg.

(Baonghean.vn)- Normally, in previous years, during the Lunar New Year holiday, due to decreased consumer demand, the price of chayote in Quynh Lien commune, Hoang Mai town, would drop. However, this year is the first time the price of chayote has fallen to a record low, causing great discouragement among the people.

Our reporter captured the following images:

People in Quynh Lien pack up chayote squash for traders to collect.

Every day, Quỳnh Liên commune has 10 trucks, each carrying over 20 tons, buying and transporting chayote for sale, but it's still not enough to meet demand.

In the month before Tet and nearly 20 days after the Lunar New Year of the Goat, the price of chayote at the farm in Quynh Lien commune was only 200 VND/kg, much lower than in previous years when it was only 500-600 VND/kg. According to some households, to cover costs and make a small profit, the minimum price of chayote must be at least 1,000 VND/kg. However, with the price as it is, instead of harvesting and selling, many households have no choice but to shake the chayote fruits to make them fall off, collect them, cut them for cattle and pigs to eat, or even use them as green manure to fertilize plants for the next crop.

People accept that chayote will fall and spoil in the garden.

Some of the better fruits are gathered to be used as animal feed.

The reason for the record low chayote prices in Quynh Lien, besides reduced demand in the major markets of the North and South due to workers returning home for Tet (Lunar New Year), is the excessive supply of chayote. According to the People's Committee of Quynh Lien commune, building on the success of previous years, people planted an additional 10 hectares this year, bringing the total chayote cultivation area in the commune to over 70 hectares. Chayote thrives in favorable weather conditions, yielding very high productivity, averaging 6-8 tons per sao (approximately 140-150 tons per hectare). Because of the large planting area, Quynh Lien commune ships over 10 trucks, each carrying 20-30 tons, daily to various locations, yet still cannot sell all the harvested chayote, resulting in a significant surplus.

Mr. Ho Van Duoc from Hamlet 6 sadly used a hoe to bury chayote fruits to use as green manure.

Contacting several purchasing agents, we learned that the buying and selling price of chayote in Hanoi is only 300-400 VND/kg, so even if they wanted to increase the price for farmers, they couldn't. Compared to previous years, when the price of chayote sometimes reached 8,000 to 10,000 VND/kg, and during Tet (Lunar New Year) this year, farmers suffered heavy losses. The collecting agents hope that in the coming time, when farmers in larger markets concentrate their efforts, the price of chayote will gradually increase.

Almost everyone in Quynh Lien who grows chayote is unable to sell it, leaving the fruit to rot in their gardens.

Mr. Nguyen Van Uoc, from Hamlet 5, whose family cultivates 5 sao (approximately 0.5 hectares) of chayote, said: "At this price, if the price doesn't increase in about a month, many households will suffer heavy losses. My family cultivates 5 sao, and luckily we managed to sell several harvests early, so we just covered our expenses. However, based on this situation, next year I will adjust my chayote planting to reduce the amount and replace it with other suitable crops."

This incident shows that in a market economy, people must carefully consider and plan the structure of crops to be planted and the appropriate area; at the same time, local Party committees and authorities must do a good job of planning and gathering market information to promptly advise and guide farmers; they should not blindly follow trends, which leads to inefficiency and a lack of sustainability.

Nguyen Hai