Ly Son garlic harvest is good, farmers have not yet had time to be happy but their faces are distorted

TPO - These days, in all the fields of Ly Son island district (Quang Ngai province), people are busy harvesting garlic. This is the main agricultural product that Ly Son people liken to "white gold".

TPO - These days, in all the fields of Ly Son island district (Quang Ngai province), people are busy harvesting garlic. This is the main agricultural product that Ly Son people liken to "white gold".

“White gold” harvest season on the outpost island. Video: Nguyen Ngoc.

After more than 4 months of planting, farmers in Ly Son island district (Quang Ngai province) are now entering the 2024-2025 winter-spring garlic harvest season. Garlic is a staple crop that people consider "white gold" because of its high economic value. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

This year, the weather was favorable, so most of the garlic acreage of farmers grew well, the garlic crop was good, making people very excited. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

On average, each sao of garlic yields 500-600 kg of fresh garlic. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

Ms. Le Thi Duoc (residing in Tay An Hai village, Ly Son district) said that this year the weather was very favorable, so the garlic crop was good, the harvest was higher than previous years, people were very excited. This year my family planted 5 sao, and harvested about 3 tons of fresh garlic. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

However, the joy of a good harvest is not complete because the price of fresh garlic is currently very low, only fluctuating from 30,000 - 40,000 VND/kg. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

The refrain of good harvest, low price, good price, bad harvest still happens frequently. The current price of garlic is not commensurate with the value of this famous specialty. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

Mr. Vo Kim (residing in Tay An Hai village) said that this year the weather was favorable so this garlic crop had a high yield, with large, even and beautiful bulbs. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

“However, it is the beginning of the harvest season so garlic prices are low. Traders are buying fresh garlic at 30,000 - 35,000 VND/kg, hopefully in the coming time the price will increase so that people can have income,” said Mr. Kim. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

According to many people, the price of fresh garlic must be from 50,000 VND/kg or more to consider making a profit. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

“The investment cost for seeds, fertilizers, and care has reached nearly 20 million VND/sao. With the current price of fresh garlic, farmers will not make a profit. To avoid losses, people will dry and store garlic and wait for the price to increase,” said Mr. Nguyen Van Trien. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

After harvesting, garlic will be tied into bunches for easy transport home. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

During harvest season, white garlic can be seen everywhere on Ly Son Island. People take advantage of every available space to dry garlic. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

Garlic is in season so the quantity of single clove garlic (single garlic) is quite small. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc

Ms. Pham Thi Huong - Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Ly Son District (Quang Ngai Province) - said that this year, farmers in Ly Son District planted about 320 hectares of garlic, with the total garlic output of the whole district estimated at about 3,000 tons. This year, the weather was favorable, so the garlic crop was very good. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

“Regarding output, garlic businesses on the island have reached agreements with farmers since the beginning of the season, but prices depend on the market and cannot be suddenly increased,” said Ms. Huong. Photo: Nguyen Ngoc.

Ly Son garlic is grown on million-year-old weathered volcanic lava and white sand, so it has a very delicious flavor. In 2017, Ly Son garlic was included in the list of "Top 10 famous gift products" of the Vietnam Record Organization.

On June 29, 2020, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam issued a certificate of "Geographical Indication of Ly Son Garlic".

Nguyen Ngoc

Source: https://tienphong.vn/mua-thu-hoach-cay-gia-vi-duoc-vi-nhu-vang-trang-tren-dao-tien-tieu-post1722326.tpo