Mekong Delta radish town has bumper harvest

SÓC TRĂNG – Farmers in Sóc Trăng Province’s Vĩnh Châu Town are having a bumper long white radish harvest.

Farmers harvest long white radish in Sóc Trăng Province’s Vĩnh Châu Town. – Photo vov

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta town is well-known for the root and products made from it such as dried radish pieces and salted whole radish.

Thạch Đên in the town’s Ward 2 is harvesting 1,000sq.m and using the harvest to make salted whole radish, which he says fetches higher prices than fresh ones.

Farmers could earn VNĐ10-20 million (US$430 - 860) per 1,000sq.m from this crop since traders are buying fresh radish for VNĐ5,000 – 6,000 a kilogramme, he said.

But many farmers prefer to make dried radish pieces and salted whole radish, he said.

The average yield in this crop is eight tonnes per 1,000sq.m, according to farmers

Farmers normally grow two to three white radish crops a year, including one for harvesting before Tết (the Lunar New Year), when demand for both the fresh and processed varieties is high for making pickles and other dishes for the festival.

Tết falls on January 25.

They also rotate long white radish and red onion on their fields.

In recent years many farmers in Vĩnh Châu who used to grow red onion have switched to the radish because it provides a steady income.

The town is the delta’s largest red onion producer.

Châu Sô Ri Da of Ward 2, who has switched from red onion to radish since last year, said the income from the former had not been high in recent years since growing costs were high while demand was not reliable.

Red onion prices are high this year, but farmers are not likely to switch back to it because they are afraid of the demand volatility, according to the farmer.

Long white radish on the other hand is reliable since its cultivation involves low costs and a short growing period of around 55 days, while prices are not pushed down by traders.

Dried and salted radish can be preserved for a long period.

The town sells its radish -- fresh, dried, salted -- to many other cities and provinces, including HCM City.

Farmers here grew this crop on around 1,000ha