Hai Duong carrots are entering the main harvest season with good signals about the export market when the quality continues to be confirmed and the export market has positive feedback.
In Duc Chinh commune, Cam Giang district, the center of Hai Duong carrot, the atmosphere is bustling. Pre-processing and packaging facilities have been operating since the third day of Tet. On the main roads in the commune, shipments of carrots lined up waiting for pre-processing.
In an agricultural product processing and preservation facility funded by Korea for Duc Chinh Agricultural Service Cooperative, dozens of workers are quickly sorting and packing goods. The capacity of this facility is about 100 tonnes/day.
Pre-processing carrots for export.
Ms. Tran Thi Huyen, a member of Duc Chinh Agricultural Service Cooperative, said: Although Hai Duong carrots are competing with Chinese carrots at this time and the export price is not high, businesses are still confident because of the confirmed quality of the product.
“We are buying carrots at 5,000 VND/kg. This year, Duc Chinh’s carrots continue to be highly appreciated by customers in export markets. Every day, on average, we export more than 50 tonnes of goods to Korea, Malaysia, Laos, Saudi Arabia, and Thailand”, Ms. Huyen shared.
This facility also reflects: “Cold storage currently only meets 60-70% of the demand for carrot storage, so we are looking forward to facilitating the expansion of storage area.”
According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Thuat, Director of Duc Chinh Agricultural Service Cooperative, the commune has 360 ha of carrots with an output of about 41 – 42 tonnes/ha. Currently, the commune has six establishments purchasing, processing, and exporting carrots. After preliminary processing, carrots cost about 7,000 VND/kg. The facilities are focused on exporting goods mainly to Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, the Middle East, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand.
The quality of Duc Chinh carrots has been confirmed in the market, but consumption is still a concern, especially in the context of increasing carrot production this year. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, Secretary of Duc Chinh Commune Party Committee, said that the commune assigned Duc Chinh Commune Agricultural Service Cooperative to regularly monitor the consumption of carrots. The authority has connected with enterprises for purchasing and consumption.
In the coming time, the commune will organize a carrot trade promotion conference to achieve the best results. The commune expects Hai Duong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to increase the support for the connection of consumption, and introduce businesses to buy and export carrots, especially to the Korean market.
Determining that carrots are still the main crop of Hai Duong province, bringing high income to farmers, from the beginning of the crop, Hai Duong agriculture industry has actively participated in the direction of production and market research. Deputy Director of Hai Duong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Thi Kiem said: The Department has worked with carrot export enterprises and cooperatives, especially learned about the import markets for a better guide.
Packed carrots are moved to containers for export.
When Korea continued to warn about harmful nematodes on tuberous crops and restrict carrot imports by the end of 2022, Hai Duong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has assessed and confirmed that these nematodes are not in Hai Duong’s carrots. The Department has reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for negotiations with the Korean side.
“By early January 2023, the Korean market has reopened with Vietnamese carrots, very timely with Hai Duong’s carrot harvest. Therefore, up to now, it can be seen that the output for carrots is relatively favorable. Consumption in traditional export markets is still good. The goods arriving at the ports in the markets have stable quality. This is a positive sign for Hai Duong carrots “, Ms. Kiem shared.
To ensure the quality of exported carrots, the agricultural sector directs strict control over harmful nematodes and quarantine objects warned by importing countries, planting area codes, and pesticide residues. Leaders of Hai Duong agriculture industry also noted that businesses when purchasing, sorting, and packaging must ensure quality to keep the brand name of Hai Duong carrots in the process of conquering international markets.
According to Hai Duong Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the province has about 1,000 ha of carrots under concentrated production, applied with advanced processes in fertilizing, using pesticides, and watering; 300 ha under VietGAP process. The production is about 80,000 tonnes. Carrots in the province are mainly purchased and transported to Cam Giang district for preliminary processing, preservation, and processing; in which, 20% of the production is consumed in the central and southern regions, and about 80% is exported to Korea, Japan, Thailand, the Middle East, and the EU./.