Dong Thap province is one of the largest chilli cultivation areas in Vietnam. Therefore, this province is said as the King of chilli in Vietnam. With production method of concentration, professional investment from growers, Dong Thap province has a large area of mudflats, many islets and fertile alluvial soil. This creates favorable conditions for short – term industrial crops, including small chilli.
Farmers grew Vietnamese chilli plants in Dong Thap province, Vietnam 20 years ago. Initially, the cultivation area was still pretty small. Later, this place has become one of the largest cultivation area of chilli in Vietnam with 1,800 hectares.
Chilli harvest season usually starts from October, November to April, May (in lunar year). This is the largest growing crop of chilli in Vietnam with an output of about 25,000 MTs per crop.
According to local people, small chilli is only suitable for the island soil, with red color and more spicy flavour. Chilli plants are easily adaptable and grown all year round but most suitable in the dry season. After 02 months of seeding, chlli plants start to harvest.
In order to avoid mass harvesting, price pressures, farmers choose to plant and harvest in a monthly basis. Thanks to growing Vietnamese chilli, farmers have more income and improve living standards.
In 2012, Dong Thap chilli was granted the collective trademark by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Also, the governors help farmers use safe cultivation and appropriate fertilizer to improve chilli value.
In the harvest season, processing chilli helps local people earn steady income for months. Dong Thap also has some skillful staff such as seedling team, harvest team, and processing team.
After harvesting, dealer usually classify to choose high quality fresh chilli and export to Malaysia, Dubai, and China. The remaining part of fresh chilli is for local use.
Vietnamese source: vnexpress.net