The shallot plants are as lush as grass, Binh Dinh people "pulled their hair" and pulled out the best roots, selling at a higher price than last year.

This year, Binh Dinh farmers planted nearly 680 hectares of shallots to supply for the Lunar New Year 2025, a decrease of nearly 170 hectares compared to last year. The price of shallots for Tet this year unexpectedly increased compared to last year.

Reduce planting, increase price of pickled onions

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, owner of an agency specializing in purchasing pickled onions to supply customers in Ho Chi Minh City in Van Loc village, My Hiep commune (Phu My district), the price of pickled onions this year is 7,000 - 10,000 VND/kg higher than last year, depending on the type.

"If last year the highest price for grade 1 shallots was only 40,000 VND/kg, this year the highest purchase price is 47,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, smaller shallots (grade 2) cost from 35,000 - 40,000 VND/kg," said Ms. Hoa.

Farmers in Phu My district, Binh Dinh province harvest shallots. Last year, the price of shallots dropped and income was low, so this year many farmers switched to growing other vegetables and fruits. Photo: QN.

Meanwhile, Ms. Le Thi Chung, a trader specializing in buying and selling pickled onions in Trung Hoi village, My Trinh commune (Phu My district), who specializes in supplying pickled onions to customers in the Central region markets, said that at the beginning of the season, the price of pickled onions fluctuated from 37,000 - 40,000 VND/kg, in the middle of the season it increased to 43,000 - 50,000 VND/kg, and at the end of the season the price decreased to nearly 40,000 VND/kg.

Ms. Le Thi Thang, who has 30 years of experience growing shallots in My Trinh commune, said that shallots grown in My Trinh have a very special taste. The drier the soil, the bigger and whiter the shallots, with a strong and fragrant flavor. In recent years, My Trinh shallots have been certified by VietGAP, so the quality has increased.

Borrowing the folk song: "Looking for you in the season of My Trinh pickled onions, My Tho melons and My Chau eels" to illustrate the popularity of My Trinh pickled onions, Ms. Thang said: "If you want delicious pickled onions, after cutting the leaves, soak them in wood ash water, then take them out, cut the roots, and dry them for about a day. When cutting the roots, don't bruise the bulbs so the onions don't spoil quickly."

According to farmers in Phu My district, Binh Dinh, this year's Tet onion crop has been hit by unfavorable weather, causing productivity to drop. Due to the effects of prolonged heat waves in the summer, followed by prolonged late rains, the onion plants cannot grow.

The scallion has just been harvested by farmers. Photo: QN.

"Capital" of growing shallots in Binh Dinh, farmers make a living from selling the crop for Tet

Farmer Than Trong Thanh in Van Ninh 1 village, My Tai commune (Phu My district) this year planted 3 sao of shallots (500m2/sao) on sandy soil. He took good care of them, so this year the yield was stable, estimated at about 1 ton of tubers, a slight decrease compared to last year.

"I'm lucky, but the yield of the surrounding onion fields has decreased sharply compared to last year. This year, the onion prices are good, but the crop failure has made farmers unhappy," said Mr. Thanh.

Farmer Nguyen Thanh Truc in Tra Luong village, My Trinh commune (Phu My district) planted 1.5 sao of shallots this year but only harvested nearly 280 kg of tubers, a decrease of about 100 kg compared to last year. Most of Mr. Truc's shallots have small, uneven tubers, so they can only be sold for 35,000 VND/kg.

In Phu My district, Binh Dinh, the price of shallots is high but farmers are not happy because of the bad harvest. Photo: QN.

"This year's weather was hot all summer, then cold and rainy in winter until almost the end of December, causing the shallots to grow poorly and become infected with stem fungus, making the tubers small and uneven," said Mr. Truc.

Mr. Ho Ngoc Chanh - Vice Chairman of Phu My District People's Committee said that this year, farmers in the district planted nearly 280 hectares of shallots, a decrease of nearly 170 hectares compared to last year. Because the price of shallots was low last year, this year many households switched to growing other vegetables and fruits.

Although the area of shallot cultivation has decreased, Phu My district is still the locality with the largest area of shallot cultivation in Binh Dinh, among the top in the Central region, concentrated in the communes of My Trinh, My Tai, My Quang, My Phong, My Hiep and Phu My town.

After harvesting, onion growers cut the bulbs to supply the market. Photo: QN.

"This year's shallot crop failed, but thanks to the increase in shallot prices, the income of shallot growers is still more stable than many other crops. Shallots are still an important source of income for Phu My farmers, especially since this crop is harvested before Tet, the money coming into the house at this time is twice as important as usual," said Mr. Ho Ngoc Chanh.

Source: https://danviet.vn/cay-kieu-tot-um-nhu-co-dan-binh-dinh-tum-toc-nho-mot-phat-bat-cu-ngon-ban-gia-cao-hon-nam-ngoai-20250204082839351.htm