Social media come to the rescue of Hải Dương farmers, badly affected by the pandemic
As local transportation comes to a halt as a result of the pandemic, the sale of vegetables, chickens and eggs in the northern province is disrupted. This is particularly critical for the local economy during the Lunar New Year period. Some firms and individuals have responded by promoting online shopping. But there is a fear that the crisis could spread to neighbouring areas.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – The economic consequences of the pandemic in Vietnam are becoming increasingly serious as the health crisis worsened in recent weeks.
This is especially the case of Hải Dương province (northern Vietnam), a rich agricultural region in the Red River Delta where the application of science and technology have boosted production.
Over the past few years, livestock breeding has been intensified in eight areas, benefitting farms of three or more hectares, plus aquaculture zones of 10 hectares or more, run by farming groups or co-operatives.
However, the latest phase of pandemic has hit the area hard, right at a time when Lunar New Year festivities got underway, which coincides with high season for the sale of fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, locally and in neighbouring provinces.
As a result of the disruption in transportation, interprovincial travel was suspended, and this has made it hard to trade farm products, with serious losses for growers and breeders.
To cope with this situation, companies, sponsors, but also individual citizens have gone on social media to help support Hải Dương farmers.
Nguyen Thi owns a Gà Dồi (hill chicken) poultry farm in Chí Linh. She explains that “the most difficult items to sell are chickens and eggs, which were usually sold on the main streets of Hà Nội (Hanoi), Hải Dương e Hải Phòng (Haiphong) in January and February.”
To help people like her, consumers and shops have taken to social media to support Chí Linh poultry farmers, with many retailers offering support. For example, the Co.opmart in Hanoi’s Hà Đông district supported sales from cooperatives in the area affected by COVID-19.
Another retailer, the Central Group, bought a hundred tonnes of vegetables, tubers and fruit per week from Hải Dương, and plans to buy two hundred tonnes soon. MM Mega Market also struck a deal to buy 24.3 tonnes of vegetables per day.
All this, however, is not enough for Hải Dương farmers who still have large quantities of unsold produce in addition to fresh crops, and face transportation problems and COVID-19 restrictions.
Speaking about these difficulties, Trần Thanh Hải, deputy director of the Import-Export Office of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, noted that Hải Dương is not alone, that business in neighbouring provinces is also affected.
In fact many processed products are made at different plants in various provinces. If a solution is not found to the crisis in Hải Dương, the consequences could hit hard these other places and affect their economic development.
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02/02/2022
