Nghe An's acidic lowland land has a good lotus season, farmers are excited to sell at good prices from root to tip
Every July and August, when the lotus season has ended, many low-lying, salty and sour lands in Nghe An enter the harvest season of lotus calyxes, shoots, and tubers. In the long lotus ponds, people are busy wading through the mud to break calyxes, dig up tubers, and scoop up lotus shoots... With a good harvest and good prices, lotus growers are excited to start the season.
Báo Nghệ An•03/08/2025
Lotus fields stretch out in the low-lying areas of Nghe An , from communes and wards such as Kim Lien, Hung Nguyen, Vinh Hung, Hoang Mai, Quynh Mai... in harvest time. Photo: TP Lotus growers skillfully cut each lotus flower at the end of the season to serve the market. Lotus flowers are currently priced at 5,000-6,000 VND/flower and are popular in the market. Photo: TP After being cut, the lotus flowers will be soaked in water to keep them fresh, waiting for traders to collect the goods or take them to wholesale markets. The fresh, fragrant lotus bunches will follow the traders to all the markets and flower shops. Photo: TP Lotus leaves are also a valuable product. Young lotus leaves are carefully trimmed and used to make dried lotus leaf tea. Photo: TP The price of dried lotus leaf tea currently ranges from 50,000-60,000 VND/kg, creating additional income for farmers. Photo: TP At this time, the lotus pods are old, the seeds are firm, and it is time to start harvesting. Photo: TP People have to wade through deep mud and soak themselves in water to break each old lotus bud. “Harvesting lotus bud has to be done manually and is hard work, but the product is clean and does not use chemicals, so lotus seeds sell for a good price. My family grows 2 hectares of lotus, and during the main season, my family hires 2-3 local workers to harvest on time,” said Mr. Ho Loan, a lotus grower in Quynh Mai ward. Photo: TP Styrofoam boxes filled with lotus flowers follow people to the market, onto cars, and travel everywhere. Photo: TP Lotus season is good thanks to favorable rain, large lotus pods, plump, full lotus seeds. Photo: TP Lotus seeds are separated, sold fresh to make tea, nut milk, jam or dried, frozen for export to provinces and cities, bringing a stable source of income for people. Photo: TP Not only flowers and seeds, products from lotus shoots and roots are also harvested at the end of the season. Many lotus ponds combine fish farming with growing lotus, helping farmers have a double source of income on the same area. "After each lotus crop, we take advantage of releasing tilapia, thereby increasing our income. Growing lotus is much more effective than growing rice, each hectare brings in an income of 60-80 million VND," said Mr. Nguyen Ba Khan - a lotus grower in Hoang Mai ward. Photo: TP There are two types of lotus shoots: the small, young, soft type is consumed as food such as salads and stir-fries; the large, firm type is kept for seeds, multiplied in pots to sell to lotus growers or kept for seeds for the next crop, ensuring a quality source of lotus for the following seasons. Photo: TP From lotus, people create many delicious, rustic dishes rich in nutritional value: cool lotus root soup, refreshing lotus shoot salad, fragrant lotus seed tea, enriching the value of the specialty crop of their hometown. Photo: TP
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Báo Nghệ An•03/08/2025
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