High quality Chilli plant was planted in Thanh Binh, Dong Thap Province, about 20 years ago. Initially, the area is still small, but now, this place has become one of the largest chili cultivation area in the Southwest with the area of 1,800 hectares, concentrated in Cu Lao Tay and Tien River .
Chili harvest season usually starts from September, October to March, April next year. This is the only growing crop of chilli in the year with output reaching about 25,000 tonnes per crop (According to the Agriculture Department and Rural Development Thanh Binh Dong Thap province – 2017).
According to indigenous peoples, chilli is only suitable for the soil of the island, giving red fruit and more spicy than other regions. Chilli plants are adaptable, can be grown all year round but most suitable for growing in the dry season. After about 2 months, peppers start to harvest, harvest time 3-4 days apart.
In order to avoid mass harvesting, the price of chilli should be reduced, so farmers choose to plant their crops for monthly harvest. In addition, the chilli area is divided quite clearly, one third of the area of winter-spring crop, one third of the main growing in the late spring and spring, and the rest are grown in the early summer. According to the local people, thanks to growing chilli farmers have more income, by doing seasonal rice but making chilli, every day is harvested.
Video: Red Chili in Thanh Binh, Dong Thap
In the harvest season, picking and picking chili also helps large local laborers earn steady income for months. Thanh Binh also has some specialized staff such as seedling team, harvest team, chili team, each group of about 10 people, salary based on the product volume and divided equally to the members.
After harvesting, fresh peppers are selected and moved to Ho Chi Minh City, Frozen Red Chili are exported to markets such as China, Thailand and Cambodia. The rest are sold to chili processing factories, chili powder, chili and salts mixed..
