The joy of a bumper pepper harvest and good prices.

Every year, after the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, pepper growers in Quang Tri province officially begin their harvest. This year, the joy is doubled for the farmers; not only is the pepper crop abundant, but the price is also high. The price of dried pepper is currently at its highest level in nearly 10 years. Many families expect to earn several hundred million dong from selling dried pepper this season.

Mr. Bui Van Tam in An Nha village, Gio An commune, Gio Linh district, and his wife harvesting pepper - Photo: TU LINH

Mr. Le Van Hoang's family in Phuc Duc village, Hien Thanh commune, Vinh Linh district, owns a 10-sao (approximately 10,000 square meters) pepper garden, one of the largest in the village. In recent days, Mr. Hoang has been busy harvesting his peppers, prioritizing ripe peppers, harvesting the outer layers first, then the inner layers, and harvesting the top first, then the bottom. This season, Mr. Hoang's pepper garden is estimated to yield nearly 200 kg of dried pepper per sao. With a current selling price of 170,000 VND per kg of dried pepper at the garden, he estimates a revenue of nearly 350 million VND.

Hien Thanh commune is considered the largest pepper-growing area in Vinh Linh district. According to Le Duc Kiem, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hien Thanh commune, pepper is identified as the main crop, chosen by many farmers in the commune for cultivation. The area of ​​pepper cultivation in the commune is over 184 hectares. Many households cultivate on a large scale, applying systematic care procedures, thus bringing high economic value. Despite occasional pest and disease problems or fluctuating prices, pepper cultivation still provides stable employment and income for many local farmers. This year, the pepper crop is bountiful, with high yields and very high selling prices, making pepper growers very happy.

These days, pepper growers in Quang Tri province are taking advantage of favorable weather to harvest their pepper crops in a timely manner. Mr. Bui Van Tam's family in An Nha village, Gio An commune, Gio Linh district, has the largest pepper garden in the village, covering 12 sao (approximately 12,000 square meters). Mr. Tam couldn't hide his joy as this year's pepper yield is double that of last year.

Under the summer sun, Mr. and Mrs. Tam skillfully pick each bunch of ripe peppercorns. The total yield from Mr. Tam's pepper garden is estimated at over 2 tons of dried peppercorns (approximately 180 kg per sao). Currently, traders are buying dried peppercorns directly from the garden at 170,000 VND/kg, bringing Mr. Tam's family approximately 350 million VND from the sale. This is a huge sum of money that Mr. Tam never imagined when his pepper garden first bloomed last autumn.

Not only Mr. Bui Van Tam, but many pepper-growing families in Gio An have earned a large sum of money this season, helping them to repair their houses, support their children's education, and improve their family's living standards.

According to Le Phuoc Hieu, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Gio An commune, Gio An is considered the "pepper capital" of Gio Linh district. The entire commune has 75 hectares of pepper plantations currently producing crops (not including 45 hectares of newly planted peppers aged 2-3 years), with an estimated average yield of 3 tons of dried pepper per hectare. In previous years, the highest price for pepper was only 65,000 VND/kg, but this year, at the beginning of the year, the price reached 90,000 VND/kg, and continued to increase gradually each month, reaching 170,000 VND/kg by this time in June. Meanwhile, farmers can already make a profit at just 90,000 VND/kg for dried pepper. It is estimated that the total revenue from dried pepper for the people of Gio An this season will be around 20 billion VND.

Many localities in the province are entering the pepper harvest season, so the shortage of harvesting labor has become a concern for many farmers. Despite being willing to pay high wages, many households are still unable to hire enough workers for the harvest. On average, one hectare of pepper requires at least 20-30 workers to harvest in a short period. While last year the daily wage for harvesting pepper was only 220,000 VND per person, this season it has risen to 280,000 VND per day, yet finding workers remains difficult.

According to Nguyen Hong Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, pepper is identified as one of the province's key long-term industrial crops, widely grown in Vinh Linh, Gio Linh, Cam Lo, and Huong Hoa districts with an area of ​​nearly 2,000 hectares. In recent years, the province has implemented many policies to support and encourage people to apply science and technology to pepper production. This includes promoting organic pepper production. Nearly 100 hectares of pepper plants in the province have been certified as organic, and are purchased at a price about 10% higher than traditionally grown pepper.

To ensure the quality of harvested pepper, the department always advises farmers to choose the appropriate time, focusing on harvesting only ripe peppers, and avoiding harvesting when they are not yet mature. Workplace safety must be ensured during the harvesting process.

According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association, one of the main reasons driving the sharp increase in pepper prices recently is the limited global supply, while demand for this spice remains high. The US, European countries, and China are the main markets for Vietnamese pepper. Due to the impact of climate change and the lack of new pepper plantations in recent times, global pepper production will decrease. This has significantly contributed to the recent price increase, and it is predicted that pepper prices will continue to rise in the near future, albeit at a slower pace.

In light of this situation, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development closely monitors market factors as well as the pepper cultivation situation of the people to provide timely guidance and recommendations. The focus is on increasing productivity on existing areas to create high-quality products that are competitive with other localities nationwide, meet the requirements of the international market, and serve export purposes.

This helps to increase the value of Quang Tri's pepper products. Farmers should not rush to plant new crops just because pepper prices are rising; they should only increase the area in planned zones to ensure that the province's pepper growing area reaches approximately 2,700 hectares and cultivation is carried out sustainably.

Tu Linh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/niem-vui-ho-tieu-duoc-mua-duoc-gia-186238.htm