Dien Thai coriander is awarded '3 stars', supply cannot meet demand

Coriander from Dien Thai commune is harvested regularly throughout the year. Photo: Xuan Hoang

For about 2 months now, the coriander product of Dien Thai commune, Dien Chau district has been consumed strongly in the market from the North to Da Nang, with quite high selling prices from 10,000 to 13,000 VND/kg. Therefore, the growers of this vegetable are excited.

It is known that the people of Dien Thai commune brought coriander to grow since 2001, however, at that time it was not widely grown and the consumption market was not high. Since 2011, people started to grow a lot because they saw the great economic efficiency. In addition to converting to growing on 2-rice land, people also grow a lot in their home gardens.

Ms. Phan Thi Nhung - Director of Dien Thai Coriander Cooperative said that the Cooperative currently has 4 hectares specializing in producing coriander. By harvesting in a rolling manner, the Cooperative harvests about 500 kg of products every day. At the same time, it purchases about 500 kg from people in the commune. Therefore, each day the Cooperative sells 1 ton of coriander to the market.

Wherever farmers harvest, the Dien Thai Coriander Cooperative promptly purchases them and transports them for consumption within the day. Photo: Xuan Hoang

"Dien Thai's coriander products are being purchased by some instant noodle companies in the North to process spices; in addition, they are also transported to provinces from Ha Tinh to Da Nang for consumption. At this time, many places are calling to place orders, but there are not enough vegetables to supply," said Ms. Phan Thi Nhung.

Vice Chairwoman of Dien Thai Commune People's Committee, Ms. Dinh Thi Trang added: The special feature of Dien Thai Commune is that the land for two rice crops is loam, with enough water all year round, very suitable for growing coriander. Therefore, many hamlets have switched from growing rice to growing coriander for higher income.

Coriander is easy to grow, prefers muddy soil, has water all year round, can be harvested many times after planting, so the investment is small. Moreover, the care and harvesting process does not require much effort.

Coriander is washed with clean water before being sold on the market. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Dien Thai Coriander was ranked "3 stars" by Nghe An Provincial People's Committee as an OCOP product in 2019; this is a great effort of the local government and people over many years. The advantage is that since March 2020, the locality has established Dien Thai Coriander Cooperative, which is an opportunity for this product to reach a wider market, because the product has a unit that actively purchases and seeks a sustainable market.

With such potential and advantages, Dien Thai commune will strive to reach the "4-star" rank in the coming years. However, to upgrade the star rank, in addition to the efforts of the cooperative, all levels and sectors need to pay attention to supporting investment resources in production area infrastructure, processing machines, etc.

Dien Thai coriander was ranked "3 stars" by the People's Committee of Nghe An province as an OCOP product in 2019. Photo: Xuan Hoang

Coriander is a very popular vegetable in the market, can be used as a spice for many dishes such as beef, sour soup, fish soup, herbs... Currently, Dien Thai has a total of 24 hectares of coriander. If well cared for, this vegetable can yield 40 tons/ha/year, the economic value can reach 400 million VND, many times higher than rice cultivation.