Maintain the quality of Hai Duong's vegetable export area

Focus on producing main crop vegetables

Having just ended the heavy rains, the carrot growing area on the riverbank of Cam Van commune (Cam Giang) is busier than the previous days. The sound of tilling machines echoes throughout the fields, signaling the start of a new crop season.

Taking advantage of the sunny weather, Mr. Pham Van Hung in Van Thai village, Cam Van commune quickly planted carrots in time for the season. “Carrots are mainly for export, so we farmers have changed our production methods. In the past, the spraying of pesticides was not controlled, and the names of the pesticides were not paid attention to, but now it is different. Owners of pesticide stores instruct farmers to only spray pesticides on the permitted list to control pesticide residues,” said Mr. Hung.

Cam Van commune has more than 150 hectares of carrots, of which nearly 100 hectares are produced according to VietGAP standards, the remaining areas are produced according to this standard. This season, farmers planted carrots later than before. In addition to the rainy weather at the beginning of the season, early carrot planting often encounters heavy rains, and farmers have to replant many times. Learning from previous crops, this season farmers only focus on main-season carrot tea. Mr. Nguyen Van Mich, Director of Cam Van Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative, said: "Main-season carrot production is safe and costs less than early carrot tea. In particular, unlike other vegetables, carrots can be harvested in a spread so there is less seasonal pressure."

Le Loi Commune is a large vegetable growing area of ​​Gia Loc District. The commune has about 100 hectares of vegetables, of which nearly 30 hectares are export-quality vegetables, mainly kohlrabi, cabbage and cauliflower. Every year, farmers usually grow 2-3 crops of vegetables and 1 crop of rice to improve the soil. Production is usually based on orders from traders and businesses. The growing area is assigned a code for easy management, and the production process and techniques meet the export needs of China and some countries in Southeast Asia.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hoat, Deputy Director of Le Loi Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative, said: “Early winter vegetables are often consumed in the province and neighboring provinces and cities due to their high prices. Main-season vegetables are often purchased by traders for export because their prices are “softer” than early winter vegetables. On average, farmers earn a profit of 3-5 million VND/sao of vegetables, sometimes even higher.”

Up to this point, farmers in the province have only planted about 4,000 hectares of winter crops. Of these, nearly 100 hectares of carrots have been planted, much later than the same period many years ago. Carrots are the province's main agricultural export product. Farmers are gradually changing from early carrot tea to main-season cultivation. This shows that instead of taking risks with early vegetable teas, farmers are returning to main-season vegetable teas, which are safer, cost-effective and more effective.

Looking for new markets

Among agricultural export products, carrots are the province's main product. In 2022 - 2023, about 65,000 tons of carrots will be exported, accounting for 80% of total carrot output. In addition to the main markets of Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Middle Eastern countries, carrots are also exported to new markets such as the US, France and some European countries in small quantities. This year, businesses continue to aim to increase export output to demanding markets and expand consumption markets.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Doan, Director of Tan Huong Agricultural Products Processing Joint Stock Company (Cam Giang), a company specializing in agricultural product export, said that the company's main market is currently Korea and a part of it is exported to Japan. This year, in the general context of the world facing many difficulties, especially in export, but because Hai Duong carrots have successfully "opened" to many demanding markets, the company also sets a target of exporting to many new markets.

In the 2023-2024 winter crop, Hai Duong strives to grow 21,000 hectares of vegetables, of which about 1,000 hectares meet export standards to foreign markets, equivalent to the previous winter crop.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Trang, Head of the provincial Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said: "To improve the quality and efficiency of production, Hai Duong continues to maintain and expand large-scale concentrated commodity production areas for convenient consumption. Focus on investing in improving the quality and controlling pesticide residues for export crops such as carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, etc. Take advantage of the province's support policies on agriculture to invest in improving the quality of growing areas. From there, form large specialized vegetable growing areas for export.

In recent years, Hai Duong's agricultural products have maintained their export and have been evaluated relatively well. The success of Hai Duong's agriculture is to maintain the quality of agricultural areas for export. In addition to carrots, other agricultural products such as cabbage and cauliflower have also been exported to China and some countries in Southeast Asia. However, the output of agricultural products exported to demanding markets with high value is still low compared to the province's potential. Therefore, further improving the quality of vegetable areas, meeting export standards to demanding markets is still the goal that the province's agricultural sector needs to strive for in the coming years.