According to statistics, the cultivation area of safe Vietnam carrots in Hai Duong province is currently more than 1,500 hectares. Accordingly, they generates an average yield of nearly 36MT per hectare with the yearly output of 53,000 MTs. This is a vegetable that brings great profits to farmers, with more than 2,000 billion VND / crop on average.
Carrot trees are grown mainly in districts such as Cam Giang (550 ha) and Nam Sach (650 ha). In particular, the entire carrot growing area of the province is produced in the form of specialized cultivation into a concentrated commodity area. At the same time, applying the production process under VietGAP standards to ensure products that are safe, high quality and nice shape.
In the crop of 2019-2020, the total carrot cultivation area in the province reaches 1,430 hectares. The average yield per hectare is more than 45 MTs, which leads a total output of 500,000 MTs. In particular, Duc Chinh and Thai Tan communes in Cam Giang district produced 250,000 MTs, accounting for more than 50% of the whole province.
In the process of cultivation, all stages from soil preparation, seeding, and watering are basically mechanized. However, for the sewing stage, farmers are still doing manually.
Seasonally, the carrot winter-spring crop starts from September and October and is ready for harvesting from the middle of January until the end of April of the following year. Currently, the price of fresh carrots is ranging around 5,000 VND/kg.
The project of safe Vietnam carrots in Duc Chinh commune has been implemented with remarkable results. Fresh carrots are not only consumed in many localities but also exported to other countries. It is estimated that more than 50% of carrot production has been exported to Middle East, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand…
Thanks to Vietnam carrots, many farmers have become rich. The safe carrot products in Cam Giang district were granted a collective trademark certificate in 2008. Additionally, they won the title of “Vietnam Agricultural Gold Brand” in 2017.
Currently, the province’s fresh carrots are purchased, classified and packaged by vegetable export companies in Vietnam. For fresh carrots that are in high quality and good shape, are packed in carton boxes for export. Then, lower quality carrots will mainly be consumed in the Central and Southern provinces. Finally, lowest quality carrots will be put into processing, drying or freezing to preserve and export to many markets.
The whole province has 16 enterprises and about 50 traders who collect carrots. Especially, in the harvesting period, on average each day, businesses buy 200 MTs of carrots for farmers, with prices ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 VND/kg.
According to a director of a trading company of fresh carrots, in recent years, thanks to farmers who have actively applied technical advances and production according to VietGAP processes, carrot products always ensure high quality and nice shape. “At the time of the main harvest, our company buys 3 – 5 containers of fresh carrots a day, with the price of 5,000 – 6,000 VND/kg”, the director added.
However, the consuming market for Vietnam carrots is still unstable due to the fierce competition from carrots originating from China. Therefore, to be proactive and avoid risks, businesses and production facilities should build cold storage to preserve products. In addition, businesses also need to invest in installing processing lines to increase the value of fresh carrots.
Vietnamese source: http://hoinongdan.org.vn