Cardamom crops pay off for farmers in Phongsaly
Cardamom crops pay off for farmers in Phongsaly
A Guangdong variety of cardamom has become the most lucrative crop in Phongsangly province in the north of Laos and tops the list of farming export values.
According to a report from the provincial Agriculture and Forestry Department, last year local buyers bought cardamom for 410,000 kip per kilogramme from farmers, an increase from 180,000 kip the previous year.
Meanwhile tea, a famous crop in the provi nce, was sold for only 2,000 to 8,000 kip for green leaves. Coffee was sold for between 1,500 to 1,800 kip per kilogramme of fresh beans.
The department's Deputy Director Mr Thongsavanh Thammavong said last week that the rising price saw the value of cardamom exports top the list again in 2013, when previously it used to rank in fifth or sixth place.
According to statis tics from the department, the value of cardamom exports was over 120.8 billion kip, with a total export volume of more than 400,000 kilogrammes of cardamom in 2013.
Tea exports reached 6.9 billion kip, while cash crops including sugar and perennials totalled 49 billion kip and the value of rubber exports was 1.8 billion kip.
Farmers in Phongsaly province begun planting cardamom in 1977 but nobody knows exactly when the Guangdong variety of cardamom from China was first introduced to Phongsaly, Mr Thongsavanh said.
This year, the province has 3,180 hectares of cardamom but the harvested area is 1,800 hectares, with productivity of 0.3 tonnes per hectare. This crop is planted under the shade of trees and is mostly planted in Boun Neua, Boun Tai and Ngot Ou districts.
All harvests are shifted to markets in China because Phongsaly province of Laos shares a border with China.
Mr Thongsavanh said that the Chinese market has a strong demand for cardamom to supply the growth of pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries in China.
The price of cardamom is expected to be the same as last year because the area of harvesting is stable.
It was observed that most farmers plant Guangdong variety cardamom because there is a stronger market demand than there is for local wild cardamom.
People pick the fruit of Guangdong cardamom and then dry them for sale, whereas local cardamom on the other hand, needs to be pealed and dried before sale. The price is very cheap. One kilogramme of local cardamom is sold for between 40,000-50,000 kip.
According to the development plan of the provincial agricultural sector, the province will focus on promoting crops with the potential to bring good economic returns, such as tea, cardamom, sugar and perennial crops.
vientiane times
