Ginger prices are at their peak, but Ky Son residents have nothing to sell.

Ky Son ginger is of guaranteed quality and is popular in the market. Photo: Q.An

Every year from February, ethnic minorities in the Ky Son highlands begin harvesting ginger, but June is the main harvest season. Unlike last year when it was only over 4,000 VND/kg, this year ginger was priced right from the beginning of the season, up to 16,000 - 18,000 VND/kg and currently it is 30,000 VND/kg.

Na Ngoi Commune is the locality with the largest ginger growing area in Ky Son District. Mr. Xong Ba Denh - Chairman of Na Ngoi Commune People's Committee said that ginger is one of the main income crops for local people. This year, the whole commune has planted 320 hectares. People harvested from February, but the main harvest season started in June. This year, people are more excited because ginger is sold at a high price, from the beginning of June, traders bought it for 18,000 VND/kg, while last year it was only less than 5,000 VND/kg. This year, hundreds of households have significant income, some families earned hundreds of millions of VND.

Every year, Ky Son people harvest ginger from February, but the main season starts from June. Photo: X.Hoang

"When ginger prices were high, people in the commune competed to harvest and sell to traders, so by the beginning of August, people had sold all their ginger. However, from the beginning of August, the price of ginger increased to 30,000 VND/kg, and people had no more ginger to sell. Seeing that ginger prices were high, many people went to the fields to dig up ginger to collect and sell to traders, but the quantity was not much," said Mr. Xong Ba Denh.

Mr. Nguyen Van Luan - Director of Huong Son Agricultural Services & Small Industry Cooperative (Ky Son) said: Last year, ginger could not be consumed in the market, causing Ky Son's ginger products to be sluggish and had to be "rescued", but this year the price of ginger reached a peak, the highest in 3 years. This year's ginger price is thanks to export, while ginger in other places has not entered the harvest season. This season alone, the Cooperative purchased 1,000 tons of ginger, processed it to supply to small traders in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and exported abroad, a part of which is extracted into ginger essential oil.

"Due to the high market demand for ginger, the cooperative is still going to localities to buy ginger for people. However, it is the end of the season, so people can only harvest a little, only a few tons per day," said Mr. Nguyen Van Luan.

Ginger is purchased and processed at Huong Son Agricultural Service - Small Industry Cooperative. Photo: Q.An

According to the data of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ky Son district, this year the total ginger area of the district is estimated at about 800 hectares. Ginger is grown mostly in the communes of Na Ngoi, Tay Son, Nam Can, Pha Danh, Huoi Tu... Because people grow it extensively on the fields, the ginger yield is about 1.5 tons/ha. Thus, the annual ginger output of Ky Son is about more than 1,200 tons, bringing a significant source of income to ethnic minorities.

Ky Son ginger specialty products have been granted a certificate of geographical indication registration by the Intellectual Property Office since 2019. Ky Son ginger has 2 types: De ginger and buffalo horn ginger, farmers usually finish harvesting at the end of April. Up to now, Ky Son has 3 products made from ginger that have achieved 3 OCOP stars at the provincial level: Fresh ginger, ginger essential oil and ginger powder.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/gia-gung-len-dinh-nguoi-dan-ky-son-khong-co-de-ban-post274671.html