Raising pigs at a loss, this farmer in Thai Nguyen switched to making noodles that can squeeze several hundred kilograms per day but still not enough to sell?

We had the opportunity to visit the Thai Hoan rice noodle production facility of Mr. Nguyen Van Thai's family (Trung Tam hamlet, Kha Son commune, Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province) when the workers were busy with the noodle production stages. Some were extruding noodles, some washing noodles, some drying noodles,... always busy.

Mr. Nguyen Van Thai (Trung Tam hamlet, Kha Son commune, Phu Binh district, Thai Nguyen province) started making rice noodles in 2021. Photo: Ha Thanh

Sharing about the process of coming to the current noodle making job, Mr. Thai said: Before 2021, his family mainly raised pigs in large quantities. However, in 2021, due to the epidemic, his family suffered heavy losses. With no more capital to maintain livestock farming, he decided to switch to the production model of making rice noodles. The reason is because he realized that this job does not require much capital, can proactively mobilize labor in the family, and is not as risky as livestock farming.

At first, Mr. Thai's family often learned the production methods of households that had experience making noodles before. During the first 3 months of operation, there were many failures. However, after a period of production, working and gradually gaining experience, up to now, the family's products when launched on the market have been favored by many customers.

Rice for making noodles is carefully selected and milled by Mr. Thai. Photo: Ha Thanh

To make delicious noodles, according to Mr. Thai, the selection of rice ingredients is extremely important. The rice when milled must meet the standards, be white rice, not mixed and be Khang Dan rice.

After selecting good quality rice, the rice will be soaked for 2-3 hours. Then the rice is put into a machine to grind into powder, then packaged and pressed. When the powder has enough time according to the regulations, it is put into the extruder to make noodles.

The next step is to let the noodles ferment for about 15 hours (winter) and 20 hours (summer), then spread them out in bags, cover them with tarpaulins, and then soak them in a water tank to loosen them up. Next, the noodles are dried in the sun.

"If the weather is sunny, the drying time will last about 4-6 hours. If the weather is rainy, the noodles will be put in a hot oven for about 10 hours and the noodles will be dry," said Mr. Thai.

Noodles are dried naturally for 4-6 hours. Photo: Ha Thanh

According to Mr. Thai, the most favorable weather for making noodles is around October because at this time the weather is dry, with little rain. At that time, the noodles are mainly dried by wind, so the noodles will be more beautiful and delicious than when dried under the sun.

Mr. Thai said that making noodles also takes a lot of time, but it is not hard work, so as long as you are diligent and meticulous, you can do it. Especially, for those who are past working age like him and his wife, who cannot work for a company, they can stay at home and make noodles, work in the fields, and raise ducks and chickens to have some money to spend.

Currently, on average, Mr. Thai's family produces 4-5 quintals of noodles per day, and on unfavorable weather days, his family only produces about 2 quintals.

Currently, Mr. Thai's family sells noodles wholesale at 22,000 VND/kg and retail at 24,000 VND/kg. Thus, according to calculations, after deducting expenses, his family earns a profit of about 3,000 VND/kg of noodles. Currently, in addition to the Thai Nguyen market, Mr. Thai's family's rice noodles are being sold to some provinces and cities such as Yen Bai, Binh Thuan... for agents and regular customers.

Mr. Thai's family sells noodles wholesale at 22,000 VND/kg and retail at 24,000 VND/kg. Photo: Ha Thanh

To meet production needs, Mr. Thai’s family is employing 3 workers to make noodles. The average income of workers is 6-7 million VND/person/month.

In the near future, Mr. Thai's family plans to move the production site to the street, thereby expanding the production scale to meet the demand for goods serving the market.

According to Mr. Thai, compared to his family's previous livestock farming, making noodles now does not require much capital but has a stable income, without worrying about risks or losses. Therefore, his family plans to stick with this job for a long time.

Source: https://danviet.vn/nuoi-lon-lo-nong-dan-nay-o-thai-nguyen-chuyen-lam-mi-gi-ma-vat-vai-ta-ngay-van-chua-du-ban-20240304145954356.htm