As the Lunar New Year (Tet) 2023, the most special and waited-for holiday in Viet Nam, approaches, many cooperatives across Da Nang are, in a rush, gearing up producing goods and agricultural products to serve the upcoming festival, meeting the increasing consumer demand at the year-end time.

Cooperatives are boosting production to ensure the supply of goods during Tet. In the picture, Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Thi Bich Hau is introducing chicken eggs produced at the Hoa Bac General Service Cooperative to delegates at OCOP Trade Week in November 2022. Photo: VAN HOANG

Guaranteed supplies of goods 

In the mushroom growing area covering an area of 200m2, Mr. Mai Sieng, the Deputy Director of the Hoa Quy 1 Agricultural Cooperative nestled in Hoa Quy Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District meticulously checked each mushroom embryo to prepare for harvest and serve the needs of the Tet market.

The cooperative is exploiting nearly 10,000 bags of purple oyster mushroom embryos according to the method of producing mushrooms, the cap of which is located above the neck of the bottle. This is an effective production method supported and guided by the Da Nang Fisheries - Agro-Forestry Extension Centre from October 2021, helping farmers control the growth time of fungi, limit pests and diseases, and improve the product quality and values.

From now until before Tet 2023, the cooperative will harvest two more times. Each phase, nearly 300kg of purple oyster mushrooms are expected to be brought to the market at the price per kg of VND55,000 - 60,000.

It is expected that the mushroom price of the cooperative will increase 10 - 20% according to the market price by the end of the year. “Currently, given a growing demand for mushrooms, the cooperative has increased production capacity by 30% over the same period to serve the demand.

In the next year, after receiving the 3-star OCOP (One Commune - One Product) certificate from the Da Nang administration, the cooperative will expand its production area, invest in equipment and packaging machinery to improve the value and quality of products and access many other distribution channels for more efficient consumption.

With nearly 7,000 egg-laying hens, the Hoa Bac General Service Cooperative located in Hoa Bac Commune, Hoa Vang District harvests about 5,500 eggs every day. During the Tet holiday break this year, the cooperative is expected to supply more than 165,000 eggs to the market.

According to Mr. Pham Van Chien, the Director of the cooperative, the demand for clean, delicious and safe chicken eggs often increases sharply on occasion of Tet. With the current number of egg-laying hens, the cooperative always ensures sufficient supplies for customer partners.

“This year, the price of chicken eggs often fluctuates, while the price of animal feed continuously increases, making it difficult for farmers to balance and adjust input costs to ensure production. Hopefully, the price of eggs in the last lunar month of this year will be stable so that farmers can make a profit.", said Chien 

Mr. Tran Van Hoang, the Director of La Huong Safe Vegetable Production Cooperative in Hoa Tho Dong Ward, Cam Le District shared that farmers in the vegetable area are actively producing. Currently, fruit and vegetables serving the Tet market are developing stably.

Look forward to receiving many orders

Besides agricultural products, confectionery products, processed specialties, OCOP products as gifts and consumption during Tet are being promoted by cooperatives.

Many establishments across Hoa Vang District are on a high gear to produce such well-renowned, much sought-after specialities as green- skinned pomelos, cantaloupes and ‘cu kieu’ (pickled scallion heads), a species of wild onion commonly known as Chinese or Oriental onion to meet the surge in demand from customers for the upcoming much-awaited Tet 2023.

As Tet draws near at a fast pace, these days have witnessed large numbers of dedicated, hard-working farmers in Thach Nham Tay Village, Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang District get actively involved in harvesting their bumper crops of ‘cu kieu’ for sale to customers, especially small traders hailing from nationwide localities.

‘Cu kieu’ is one of the indispensable Tet delicacies.  The best pickled scallion heads are sour enough but still pungent and crunchy. Vietnamese people usually eat them with a salty companion like dried shrimps, and sometimes with braised pork and traditional sticky rice cakes. This species of wild onion is more drought-tolerant and less vulnerable to pestilent insects than other types of plants. Moreover, ‘cu kieu’ crops boast higher productivity and lower production costs in comparison with paddy fields.

Ms Nguyen Thi Bong's family-run establishment specialising in processed ‘cu kieu’ products has seen a bustling production ambiance over recent days leading to the special occasion. For Tet, herr facility will supply the market with about 1,000 jars of processed ‘cu kieu’ weighing 350-500 grams with prices ranging from VND 55,000 - 75,000 /jar. It is known that this year, due to unfavorable weather, the production of ‘cu kieu’ in the locality is less than last year.

And at Sun Viet Hi-tech Cooperative, An Hai Dong Ward, Son Tra District, besides the main product line, spirulina, in preparation for this year's Tet holidays, the unit supplied many ‘newcomers’ to the market such as spirulina cakes and 15 others that are healthy, including cakes of Ngoc Linh ginseng, noni and moringa.

Till date, the cooperative has produced about 1 tonne of cakes of all kinds available for sales. This year, the cooperative continues to promote the business of making gift sets and baskets to serve the needs of gift-giving practice on Tet holidays. Prices of all kinds will hover at VND70,000-550,000 /basket, depending on the item and the number of products. It is expected that the cooperative will produce about 3 tonnes of cakes during Tet this year. “Hopefully in the coming days, orders will go up”, said Ms. Thu.

Reporting by VAN HOANG - Translating by A.THU