After more than 1 year of operation, the dried pineapple cooperative in Hamlet 9, Vinh Vien A commune, Long My district, has created opportunities to help some local women earn more income and improve their family economy .
In March 2023, the dried pineapple cooperative in Hamlet 9, Vinh Vien A commune was established with 10 members. Joining the group, women have the opportunity to share experiences in growing pineapples and create products made from pineapples to increase the value of this crop.
Ms. Tran Phuong Trang, Deputy Head of the Dried Pineapple Cooperative, said: “Normally, only the best quality pineapples can be sold at high prices to traders, while traders buy grade 2 and 3 pineapples at very low prices, so the profit is not high. To improve income, we have created a dried pineapple product made from grade 2 and 3 pineapples to sell to the market.”
Members of the Pineapple Drying Cooperative discuss the steps of preparing pineapple before drying.
According to Ms. Trang, the benefits of making dried pineapple products not only help increase the selling price of grade 2 and grade 3 pineapples to be equivalent to grade 1 pineapples sold to traders, but also "transform" pineapples into many delicious and attractive dishes, better meeting the consumption needs of many people. In addition, the production of dried pineapples also contributes to overcoming the problem of pineapple congestion when traders do not buy and squeeze prices.
According to records, during peak order times, the Cooperative also creates jobs for many local women with a salary of 25,000 VND/hour/person.
Previously, the production of dried pineapple only started with one individual household. Realizing that such production would help increase income, and at the same time, to have a source of dried pineapple to better meet market demand, the Women's Union of Vinh Vien A commune mobilized more women to participate in production and established the dried pineapple cooperative in hamlet 9.
Every month, members will gather to plan production for the month and assign each other to prepare raw pineapple sources for production.
“Currently, on average, we produce about 300kg of dried pineapple per month to sell to the market through online sales channels. During holidays and Tet, the amount of goods sold increases significantly,” Ms. Trang added.
According to current prices, dried pineapple is currently sold for 200,000 - 240,000 VND/kg; on average, the group earns about 20 - 30 million VND per month from producing dried pineapple.
Realizing the economic efficiency and development potential, Ms. Trang registered to participate in the 2024 Women's Startup Competition organized by the Provincial Women's Union. This startup project entered the final round.
“I hope that through the Contest, the dried pineapple product will be known to more people and if we are lucky enough to win a high prize, we will receive more support from the association at all levels so that the Group's activities can be stable and develop further in the future,” Ms. Trang confided.
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Nhu, President of the Women's Union of Vinh Vien A Commune, Long My District, the commune has over 500 hectares of pineapple, the number of member households growing pineapple accounts for about 70%, therefore, increasing the economic value of pineapple will contribute to improving the lives of women. To create conditions for the Group to operate better, the Association has proposed that the superior Association support 5 million VND for the Group to buy machinery and production materials; create conditions for 2 members to access loans of 20 million VND/person to buy seedlings, fertilizers, etc.
The Commune Women's Union added that in recent times, it has encouraged pineapple growers to join cooperative groups such as: Clean Pineapple Growing Cooperative Group, Pineapple Colored Water Cooperative Group... so that women have the opportunity to learn and share experiences in growing pineapples to increase productivity and create many products from pineapples to improve their lives.
The dried pineapple cooperative was established just over a year ago but has gradually stabilized its operations and has good development potential. In the future, the Association will continue to grasp the needs of the members of the group in order to connect with the superior association, departments, branches and sectors interested in supporting capital, science and technology, production machinery, promotion and finding output, helping the group operate effectively and sustainably.
Article and photos: MY AN
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