Chili farmers in Quang Ngai suffer heavy losses

According to statistics from the Department of Agriculture of Quang Ngai province, in the 2023-2024 Winter-Spring crop, the whole province will plant about 1,430 hectares of chili. This is also one of the localities with the largest chili growing area in the country. Farmers in this province are entering the harvest season, but the price of chili is currently only 9,000 VND/kg, causing many people to suffer heavy losses. Chili is a type of crop with very unstable prices.

Chili prices have dropped sharply, traders are buying sparingly, so chili growers in the province are facing difficulties. Photo: Ngoc Vien

The main market for chili is China. Therefore, every year when this market consumes strongly, chili growers make a profit and vice versa. Knowing that the output is uncertain, but with the mentality of "hoping for luck", many farmers still grow chili. They hope that if the price of chili increases, because there are years when the price of chili is 40-50 thousand VND/kg, they will make a big profit. However, in recent years, chili prices have continuously dropped dramatically, so chili growers have suffered losses.

Mr. Vo Nhut (in Nghia Ha commune, Tu Nghia district, Quang Ngai province) said that this season his family planted 400 square ^meters of chili. This year's weather is favorable for chili to grow, the chili is very red and beautiful, on average, this area can yield more than 900 kg of chili, but the price of chili is low, not enough to cover the cost of fertilizer and seeds. "My family does not dare to hire people to pick chili like every year because we do not have enough money for a day's work to pay the picker" - Mr. Nhut lamented.

Mr. Nhut said that the price of chili must be at 15,000 VND/kg for farmers to cover all costs and pay the pickers. If they want to make a profit, the price of chili should fluctuate between 20,000-30,000 VND/kg.

According to farmers in Ho Tieu field, Nghia Ha commune, the investment cost for each sao of chili is about 5 million VND, the harvest yield is about 1 ton, the daily labor cost for chili pickers is from 200,000-250,000 VND/day, with the price of only 9,000 VND/kg, the income after investment is just enough to cover the capital, farmers do not make a profit. Therefore, even though it is harvest season, the field is very deserted with chili pickers.

Quang Ngai farmers dry chili peppers, waiting for price increase. Photo: Ngoc Vien

Not only in Tu Nghia district, but these days, farmers in Quang Ngai city, Mo Duc district, Son Tinh, Binh Son... are also busy going to the fields to harvest chili. Although they know they will not make a profit, many farmers cannot bear to leave the ripe chili in the fields. Mr. Nguyen Lam (in Nghia Dung commune, Quang Ngai city) grows 1.5 sao of chili and said: "I just sold about 1 quintal of chili at only 9,000 VND/kg, earning less than 1 million VND. This year, chili plants make farmers very worried and anxious."

If the weather is favorable, the chili harvest will last until May and June. On the contrary, if the heat comes early, the chili may be damaged and must be destroyed to switch to growing vegetables.

To sell chili to farmers, traders are currently buying fresh chili and freezing it, waiting for the Chinese market to consume chili strongly again, and are looking for new markets such as Korea and Japan. However, new markets require high product quality, strict inspection processes, and much lower consumption than the Chinese market.

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