Yen Dinh district has established 15 growing areas, totaling 135 hectares, to apply for planting area codes. They are the requirements for Vietnamese chili exports that can penetrate demanding markets, as China and Malaysia.
Yen Dinh is the capital of Vietnamese chili in Thanh Hoa province. The total cultivation area of chili ranges from 1,000 to 1,300 hectares. Chili plants have a cropping duration of 6 to 7 months and yield approximately 16 to 18 tons per hectare. At peak times, the farm-gate price for chili has reached a record of 100,000 VND/kg. As a result, in recent years, the chili cultivation area in Yen Dinh has steadily increased.
According to the district’s plan, Yen Dinh has 1,000 hectares of chili cultivation in the 2021 winter crop. As of now, 800 hectares have already been in the process of cultivation.
Vietnamese chili exports
In previous years, most of Vietnamese chili exports have been sent to China, Malaysia, European countries. However, recently, import partners, especially China and Malaysia, have required chili shipments to be traceable to registered planting area codes. This ensures better monitoring and control over production practices, product quality, and origin traceability.
To secure export markets, Yen Dinh District has actively established the planting area codes for Vietnamese chili exports.
According to experts, developing planting area codes has been challenging due to the small-scale nature of local farming. The planting area code system requires strict production protocols, higher labor input, and increased investment costs. Meanwhile, productivity under such systems may be lower than with conventional methods. As a result, it makes many farmers hesitant to participate the model of Vietnam’s area-code chili.
Fresh chili from Vietnam
Additionally, the initial cost of testing soil and water samples for certification is relatively high. Specifically, it is approximately 18 million VND per growing area. However, the Yen Dinh District People’s Committee has yet to allocate funding support for these efforts. Therefore, it has affected farmers’ motivation to engage.
To address these difficulties, Yen Dinh has promoted land accumulation and consolidation and encouraged farmers to establish specialized chili production zones. Also, the district invited the Plant quarantine center to conduct training sessions for local farmers.
These sessions targeted directors of agricultural service cooperatives, agricultural officers, and extension workers from 14 communes and towns, focusing on guidelines for establishing planting area codes.
Furthermore, the district authority has worked with two export companies of chili and eleven cooperatives registered to implement planting area codes regarding the development of packing facility codes.
Vietnamese source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/trien-khai-cap-ho-chieu-cho-ot-xuat-khau-d307908.html