More export partners
These days, people in Duc Chinh commune have begun to harvest carrots. In large fields from the inner fields to the outer fields (the alluvial land outside the Thai Binh river dike), there are bustling scenes of farmers pulling up roots, cutting leaves, packing bags, and carrying them onto trucks parked in the fields. "My more than 3 hectares of carrots this year are quite beautiful, with an estimated yield of 1.6-1.8 tons/sao. Many areas that have only been planted for more than 2 months have had traders come to buy the whole field at a price of 8.5-10 million VND/sao, earning a profit of more than 5 million VND/sao", Mr. Nguyen Van Bac in Dich Trang village, Duc Chinh commune happily said. Mr. Bac also has more than 1 hectare of carrots grown in the field with large, beautiful roots to sell to export partners to Korea at a price of 8,000 VND/kg (pre-processed and packaged), earning 13-14.5 million VND/sao.
At carrot processing facilities in Duc Chinh commune, there are many container trucks and large trucks coming in and out, waiting to unload and import goods. The whole commune has 10 large and small facilities with a total capacity of 300-400 tons/day. Mr. Phung Duc Trung's facility alone processes 40 tons per day. Most carrots are grown in the commune and people in the commune rent land elsewhere to grow and bring here. "In addition to last year's export partners including Korea, Japan, Malaysia and the Middle East, this year we have 2 new markets, Laos and Thailand, with quite large consumption output," said Mr. Trung.
In the 2023-2024 winter crop, Duc Chinh commune will grow more than 360 hectares of carrots, accounting for about 70% of the carrot area of Cam Giang district. Of which, 85 hectares are grown according to VietGAP standards, the rest are produced according to VietGAP with a total estimated output of 15,000 tons. In addition, Duc Chinh people rent land in other places in the province and other provinces to grow 1,100 hectares with an estimated output of more than 40,000 tons. 80% of this is brought back to the commune for processing and consumption.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuat, Director of Duc Chinh Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative, said that the carrot output this season is equivalent to the previous season but the quality is higher, especially in terms of ensuring food hygiene and safety and controlling pesticide residues. In addition to the old partners, this year there are 10 new partners, mainly from abroad, coming to survey, learn and sign contracts to purchase carrots. Up to this point, Duc Chinh commune people have harvested more than 50% of the area, exporting about 30,000 tons (including carrots grown elsewhere and brought back for preliminary processing). Of which, more than 10,000 tons were exported to South Korea and 4,500 tons to Japan. New markets such as Laos and Thailand are more than 10,000 tons. The export shipments to Japan and South Korea are all guaranteed in quality and are not returned.
Clean production
To continue improving the quality of exported carrots, Duc Chinh Agricultural Service Cooperative has increased training, propaganda, and guidance for people on farming techniques, complying with clean production processes from planting, caring, harvesting, to preliminary processing, packaging, and preservation. Only use pesticides to prevent harmful organisms when absolutely necessary. Invest in automatic irrigation for the entire carrot area. Expand the area of planting according to VietGAP standards by about 20-30 hectares in the next crop. At the same time, zoning production areas of the same variety and at the same time to assign technical staff to supervise the entire cultivation process.
In addition to the TI-103 carrot variety that has been grown mainly in recent years, the cooperative is also experimenting with growing some new varieties. If they achieve higher yields, quality, better resistance to pests and diseases, and stability, they will soon be widely planted in the coming seasons.
According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Hai Duong, carrots have great potential for development thanks to the large consumption market. Currently, 70% of carrots in Hai Duong are grown for export, a small part is consumed in the province, the rest is for the domestic market. To increase the value and expand the export market for this key crop, localities growing carrots in Hai Duong in general and Duc Chinh commune in particular need to comply with the plant quarantine regulations of importing countries. Only confirm the origin of carrots for export produced in the area and be responsible for traceability.
The Hai Duong Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection also took carrot samples to analyze pesticide residues in fields before harvest in Duc Chinh commune, especially export orders to Japan and Korea, and provided effective pest control instructions to ensure carrot products meet export quality.
NHAT NGUYEN-THANH LONGSource
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