Agricultural products 'take off' thanks to festivals

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits, encourages, and joins farmers in Duc Chinh commune (Cam Giang district) in harvesting carrots for export during the early spring of the Year of the Dragon 2024. Photo: THANH CHUNG

Giving wings to agricultural products to reach the world market.

From carrots, onions, and garlic to specialty products like organic rice and shrimp, these have been honored by the province and many localities through the organization of festivals and events.

The way Hai Duong has been linking agricultural products with festivals is creative and skillful, because since ancient times, festivals have always created a vibrant atmosphere, an attractive and impressive experiential space, and especially, there are no limits on the number or composition of participants. The lively and joyful atmosphere of agricultural product festivals is widely spread through the press, social media, etc. As a result, Hai Duong's agricultural products are increasingly enhanced in terms of image and value.

The image and value of carrots from Duc Chinh commune are becoming increasingly well-known to customers. Photo: THANH CHUNG

According to Nguyen Duc Thuat, Director of the Duc Chinh Agricultural Service Cooperative (Cam Giang district), from 2022 to the present, the commune's carrot export volume has reached approximately 30,000 tons per year, double the amount from 2021 and earlier. Each year, about 85% of Duc Chinh's total carrot production is exported to markets in many countries around the world, including South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and several countries in the Middle East.

In 2022, the province organized its first carrot festival, attracting experts and businesses from many countries around the world to visit, learn about, and sign consumption contracts. This event helped our local traditional crop reach the global market and increase its value. Carrots, which previously only sold for 2,000-4,000 VND/kg, now fetch at least 6,000-9,000 VND/kg," Mr. Thuat informed.

Comrades: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan; Secretary of the Hai Duong Provincial Party Committee Tran Duc Thang, along with the people, at the Kinh Mon Onion and Garlic Harvest Festival 2024.

Kinh Mon is the "capital" of onion and garlic cultivation in the country. Each year, the town cultivates over 4,000 hectares of onions and garlic, with a total yield of approximately 100,000 tons. In January 2024, the town organized its first ever onion and garlic harvest festival.

Nguyen Trong Thuong, Head of the Economic Department of Kinh Mon town, was very impressed with the values ​​that the festival brought. The festival created a vibrant and engaging atmosphere, helping farmers feel proud of their local agricultural products, fostering a greater love for their homeland, and motivating them to continue competing in labor and production.

At the festival, through promotional activities and the signing of trade contracts, the value of Kinh Mon onions and garlic has increased. On the market, dried Kinh Mon onions are priced from 30,000-40,000 VND/kg, and garlic from 50,000-70,000 VND/kg, double the price of a few years ago.

Following the festival, the market for onions and garlic has also seen very positive changes.

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"Not only domestically, some products such as dried onions and garlic, garlic wine, etc., have begun to be exported to countries like China and France."

Nguyen Trong Thuong, Head of the Economic Department of Kinh Mon Town

Thanh Ha lychees are now exported to many demanding markets around the world. Photo: THANH CHUNG

There was a period when lychees – one of the specialties that has become the pride of Hai Duong province – were overshadowed by lychees from Bac Giang. Lychee prices were low, the domestic market was limited, and marketing to some countries was difficult. However, the situation changed when the first lychee festival was held in 2018. The festival created a "new wave" in promoting this specialty fruit, both in terms of image and value.

Following the festival, Hai Duong province began reorganizing its lychee production areas to meet export standards and successfully attracted many businesses to participate in product consumption.

To date, the province has 198 lychee growing area codes for export, mainly in Thanh Ha district. For the 2024 lychee season, Hai Duong has 120 hectares in 12 early-ripening lychee growing areas meeting GlobalGAP standards, eligible for export to high-end markets, an increase of 1 area (10 hectares) compared to the 2023 lychee season. The lychee production in these 12 areas reached nearly 1,500 tons, exported to markets in Japan, South Korea, the US, Europe, and other countries.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Tran Van Quan, along with international guests, visited the lychee, onion, and garlic booths at the Hai Duong Province Trade and Tourism Promotion Week 2022. Photo: THANH CHUNG

2024 marks the third year that Tu Ky district has organized the Organic Rice and Earthworm Festival (previously known as the Organic Rice and Earthworm Festival).

Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Director of New Generation Agriculture Joint Stock Company (Tu Ky), said that in the two years 2023-2024, the company helped farmers in An Thanh commune sell 110 tons of organic ST25 rice at 65,000 VND/kg, double the price of the same rice variety grown using traditional intensive farming methods. "Through the festival, many domestic partners placed orders for organic rice, but the current production volume has not yet met the demand. The company is preparing to expand the area of ​​organic rice cultivation to Quang Trung commune with an area of ​​about 30 hectares to increase production and value," Mr. Tuan said.

Standardizing production processes

The competition for cooking a feast of organic specialties is a new feature of the 2024 Tứ Kỳ District Organic Rice Festival.

I once had the opportunity to speak with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Le Minh Hoan, at several agricultural product festivals in Hai Duong. The Minister highly appreciated the province's initiative in organizing these agricultural product festivals.

However, the area dedicated to producing agricultural products that meet export standards in the province is still modest compared to its potential. The harvesting seasons for crops are short, and there are few large-scale agricultural processing and preservation facilities. Minister Le Minh Hoan suggested that, in addition to continuing to expand production areas that meet export standards, Hai Duong should focus on attracting strong investment in agricultural processing and preservation. Longer-lasting agricultural products, creating innovative and higher-quality products, will increase their value and market appeal.

The area dedicated to producing agricultural products that meet export standards in Hai Duong province is still modest compared to its potential. (Photo: MT)

"The demand for agricultural products in these markets remains very high. Hai Duong's agricultural products can absolutely expand their export market share globally if they standardize their production processes according to international standards," said Ngo Xuan Nam, Deputy Head of the National Notification and Inquiry Point on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) of Vietnam.

According to Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Thi Kiem, to achieve this goal, the province will develop concentrated crop production along the value chain, oriented towards the market, applying high technology, organic farming, and aiming for the development of a multi-value agricultural economy.

TIEN MANH

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/nong-san-cat-canh-nho-le-hoi-400275.html