Enhance the value of lotus

Tam lotus granary's workers pack fresh lotus roots

Tam lotus granary (7 Met hamlet, Kien Binh commune) is the only facility in Tan Thanh district that purchases lotus roots for pre-processing and processing into products such as sour lotus roots, sweet and sour lotus roots, and vacuum sealing fresh lotus roots, etc to supply traditional markets, online shopping channels, supermarket systems, and especially export to China. On average, the facility purchases more than 6 tons of fresh lotus roots everyday.

Mr. Vo Van Tam - owner of Tam lotus granary, said that in the past, he mainly purchased fresh lotus roots from farmers, then sold them to traders at Binh Dien market (HCMC). This forces farmers and establishments to depend completely on traders, so they often encounter the situation of "good harvest, low prices" or vice versa, there are even times when there are no traders to buy fresh lotus roots.

Concerned about finding an outlet for fresh lotus roots, Mr. Tam began researching the market and processing recipes for products from fresh lotus roots. After a period of research, he decided to market sour lotus root products. However, bringing a product to market and building a brand is not easy, because the market also has many products made from fresh lotus roots.

Determined to do it, at first, he sold his products at traditional markets. Only after selling all the products did the small traders pay him. Thanks to his enthusiasm, responsibility, and processing know-how without using colorants, chemicals, or preservatives, Mr. Tam's sour lotus root product is increasingly accepted by customers, and the number of products sold is increasing.

“After the sour lotus root product gradually affirmed its brand, I continued to research more sweet and sour lotus root. At the same time, I boldly bring fresh lotus roots to difficult markets such as supermarkets and exports. Up to now, every day, my facility provides the market with 1-1.5 tons of fresh lotus roots, 1-1.5 tons of sour lotus roots and nearly 300kg of sweet and sour lotus roots" - Mr. Tam added.

Workers of Hai Nhon Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative process lotus hearts before drying them into tea

Previously, the Hai Nhon Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative (Nhon Hoa commune, Tan Thanh district) specialized in purchasing fresh lotus seeds and lotus roots to resell to traders. In particular, fresh lotus roots are sold to traders in Ho Chi Minh City, and lotus stems are sold to traders in Dong Thap province. On average, during the flood season, the cooperative purchases more than 6 tons of lotus roots and lotus seeds. Like the Tam lotus granary, the cooperative often encounters price pressure from traders, who will not even come to buy if the cooperative does not lower the price when the harvest season is in full swing.

In order to find a stable output for lotus products and build the Tan Thanh lotus brand, Tan Thanh District People's Committee creates conditions for the cooperative to process fresh lotus into products such as stringed lotus seeds, lotus heart tea, dried lotus, and lotus powder, etc. Initially, these products received customer satisfaction and were highly appreciated by functional sectors. Among them, lotus powder and lotus heart products are recognized as 3-star OCOP products.

Director of Hai Nhon Lotus Agricultural Service Cooperative - Ngo Thi My Dung informed: "Since being recognized as meeting OCOP standards, the cooperative's products have become more known to customers near and far, and the amount of goods sold has increased. In the past year, the cooperative was one of 7 establishments recognized by the Provincial Department of Crop Production, Plant Protection and Agricultural Product Quality Management for a safe food supply chain. This is the basis for customers to have trust in the cooperative's products."

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tan Thanh district informed that, currently, the whole district has more than 370 hectares of lotus crops, concentrated mainly in the communes: Nhon Hoa, Kien Binh, Tan Binh. In addition, many farmers also intercrop 2 rice crops with1 lotus crop or 1 rice crop with 1 lotus crop to improve soil, reduce production costs, and increase profits on the same cultivated area./.

By Bui Tung - Translated by Q. Thien

Source: https://baolongan.vn/nang-tam-gia-tri-cay-sen-a172876.html