Farmers harvest chili pepper in central Quảng Ngãi Province. Farmers have been happy to see chili prices soaring over the past few days.– Photo baocongthuong.com.vn

QUẢNG NGÃI – Farmers in the central province of Quảng Ngãi have been happy to see chili prices soaring over the past few days.

The chili season often lasts from March to June. At the beginning of the chili season this year, prices were about VNĐ4,000-5,000 (US$0.17-0.22) per kilogramme. Prices have increased gradually to the current cost of VNĐ40,000 ($1.7) per kilogramme.

According to a Quảng Ngãi newspaper report, in many chili fields in Tịnh Long Commune, Quảng Ngãi City, farmers eagerly went to the fields to harvest chili despite the extremely hot weather.

Trần Thị Thúy, a farmer in the commune’s Tăng Long Village, said she has grown chili for the past 30 years, and the current price is the highest she has seen so far.

Thúy invested VNĐ3 million into her chili field to buy fertiliser and seeds, and she expected to earn profits of about VNĐ20-30 million ($800-1,300).

Trần Ngọc Minh, another farmer in the commune’s Ngọc Thạch Village, said the peppers require a lot of water to grow.

The weather was severe this year, so the productivity level was only half of what it was last year. However, prices increased so Minh did not suffer any losses.

Minh is pleased with the current prices, but is also worried because the prices could drop suddenly.

Phạm Thị Thu Thủy, owner of a chili dealer in Quảng Ngãi City, told the newspaper that prices could change daily depending on dealers along the northern border gates.

The prices increase or decrease depending on the Chinese market, and recently the Chinese market has had a high demand for chili, thus driving up prices, she said.

Every day, Thủy buys about 10-15 tonnes of chili peppers from farmers in the province. In recent days, three or four containers wait near her dealership to take chili peppers to China.

Thủy added that the price of VNĐ40,000 ($1.7) per kilogramme is only temporary, so farmers should take advantage of the current benefits. — VNS