The farmers in Ro hamlet, Phu Lai commune (Yen Thuy) are harvesting Tam onion.
Tam onion is a spice creating a special flavor for dishes. Tam onions are also known as the compressed bulbs, the white onions, and the scientific name is Allium schoenoprasum. Tam onions contain many sulfuric organic compounds, rich in vitamins A and C, and they are rich in mineral elements such as calcium, iron, and potassium. The spicy, pungent smell, the warmth of the onion has the effect of warming the spleen and stomach, eliminating phlegm, reducing cough, producing sweat, diuretic, antiseptic, detoxifying ... Therefore, Tam onions are used in some remedies for whooping cough, food poisoning, colds...
At Phu Lai Agricultural Cooperative, the production of salted Tam onions is carried out to ensure the absolute requirements of food hygiene and safety, without using preservatives. Each onion is carefully selected, preliminarily processed, cleaned, fermented and packaged before being put on the market. In order to keep the onions with full of characteristic flavor and precious medicinal essences inside for a long time, still keeping their crispiness while being eaten, the cooperative uses glass jars to preserve the products.
Mr. Bui Van An, the Director of Phu Lai Agricultural Cooperative says: The Tam onion plant has been growing in Yen Thuy district for a long time, surely no one remembers exactly when this plant has appeared there. They only know that it has been associated with the childhood of many generations. Perhaps that's why many households growing Tam onions in Phu Lai commune have made an effort to expand the area and gradually build a brand name for this product. Since 2020, after being granted a certificate of trademark registration by the National Office of Intellectual Property, the area of growing Tam onion in the commune has expanded to over 90 hectares.
With the ambition to "upgrade” the products to meet the strict requirements of the domestic market and to aim for export, over the past time, the product design and packaging have been focused on by the cooperative. To attract the attention of the customers, all products are labeled with codes, barcodes, and traceability information, which are fully printed from the packaging to the paper bags containing the product. Currently, there are 2 types of products being sold at the market. The selling price is 60.000 VND a jar for the weight of 250g, and 60,000 100,000 VND for the weight of 500g. Tam onions preserved in glass jars with tin lids are suitable for giving, prếnting as gifts on the occasions of holidays, especially Tet. In the coming time, the cooperative plans to produce 2 product lines of salted Tam onion, type 1 and the bucket type, and the price of products based on the design of each type will also be different.
Ms. Pham Thi Hien, the Chairwoman of the Phu Lai Commune Farmers' Union says: Comparing with corn, Tam onions bring the ecomonic value which is 10 times higher. Therefore, in the coming time, the households in the commune have the orientation to expand the planting area. This is an advantage for Phu Lai Agricultural Cooperative to build the production material areas when the consumption market is expanded. Currently, Yen Thuy salted Tam onion products are mainly consumed in the Central market and the province. With its role, the Communal Farmers' Union continues to accompany, support and coordinate in connection activities, trade promotion... to help the product be known to the domestic consumers, step by step towards the export.