For the past half month, farmers in areas such as Quang Ngai City, Son Tinh, Binh Son, Tu Nghia, Mo Duc... have been busy harvesting chili. Over the past 15 days, chili prices have fluctuated from 65,000 to 72,000 VND/kg, making many chili growers very happy.
Quang Ngai is currently one of the localities with the largest chili growing area in the country, with a total area of about 1,000 hectares. The tubers here are a crop that depends heavily on the Chinese market - a market with many potential risks. Every year, if the Chinese market consumes strongly, chili prices may increase dramatically. On the contrary, if this market "turns its back", farmers will face heavy losses. Therefore, chili growing in Quang Ngai is often considered a "gamble", luckily it is a given.
Recorded in Tho Luu field, Tinh Giang commune, Son Tinh district, people are rushing to harvest chili.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien, a farmer in Tinh Giang commune, said: "Each sao of chili (500m2) if conditions are favorable, can harvest from 1 to 1.2 tons of chili. However, this year, unusual weather with cold rain lasting even in the summer has caused chili to grow slowly, easily susceptible to pests and diseases, so the yield is not high. Each sao of chili this year only yields about 5 quintals."
Although the price of chili is very high, this year, taking care of chili plants is facing many difficulties. Many areas are plagued by pests and diseases, but thanks to the high price of chili, farmers still make a profit. According to calculations, if the price of chili is stable above VND 20,000/kg, each sao of chili will earn tens of millions of VND. Therefore, despite knowing that prices may change abnormally, Quang Ngai farmers have maintained their chili growing over the years.
According to traders, the reason for the high price of chili is due to strong consumption demand from the Chinese market. However, they also predict that in the next 20 days, when the harvest is in full swing, chili prices may decrease.
