Farmers in a Vietnamese province have enjoyed tens of millions of dong (VND1 million = US$45) in profits from their latest harvest of Japanese pumpkin crops.

Farmers in Kon Tum Province, located in the Central Highlands, harvested their Japanese pumpkin crops late last year, and what they raked in was a real fortune, Nguyen Van Lan, chairman of Kon Plong District, said on Wednesday.

The Japanese pumpkin, or Kabocha, is an Asian variety of winter squash grown in Japan and the market for this kind of pumpkin has been blooming in Vietnam.

In Kon Plong, a hectare of the crop yielded 15 to 17 metric tons of the squash, weighing 1.7-2.5kg each, according to the official.

With the vegetable fetching VND7,000-VND10,000 per kg, farmers reaped up to VND70 million ($3,125) per hectare, after expenses, he said.

Besides the fully-grown veggie, farmers were also able to sell the plant’s flower, unripe melon, and stem, earning extra profits, Lan added.

Growing Japanese pumpkins has brought more economic effectiveness to farmers, while requiring less labor and production costs than other plants, according to the official.

“Japanese enterprises are investing in technology and supplying seedlings to 37 local households to enlarge the Japanese pumpkin growing areas,” he said.

“If the crops continue to produce good yields, we will keep expanding the growing areas.”

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