8X Nghe An regretfully refused billion-dollar straw export order

This spring, Hoang Van Anh's straw collection team of 4 groups and 22 people rolled straw all over the fields of Nghe An and the northern provinces. Photo: TP

Born into a farming family in Khoa Da hamlet (Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district), Hoang Van Anh had been involved in farming since he was young. After getting married and finding other ways to make a living to “leave farming”, Anh did many jobs to make a living. In 2011, he saw that after each harvest, the villagers burned dry straw to ashes to “clear the fields” for the next crop. “Burning fields” made the soil hard, degraded, polluted the environment, many livestock farms lacked feed for their livestock, and had to buy straw at high prices in the southern provinces.

From there, Anh came up with the idea of ​​collecting straw to sell. “At first, my husband and I used two iron rakes to collect each ox-wheeled tire, dry it, and build it into straw piles. In the winter, we sold it to livestock farmers in Nghi Duc and Nghi An. After the first collection, I was able to buy a motorbike with the money from selling straw. In the following seasons, I pocketed several tens of millions of dong each season,” Anh recalled.

Straw is collected into rolls and sold to livestock farms. Photo: TP

Realizing that this was a business that could be pursued for a long time, in 2013, Mr. Anh packed his bags and went to the provinces of the Mekong Delta to see how they collected, stored, and sold straw. After more than half a month of “lying low” and learning from experience, Mr. Anh spent all his savings to buy a straw rolling machine for more than 100 million VND and started collecting straw. At first, it was only in the village fields, then he went to collect in the fields of districts in the province, each crop, after deducting expenses, he earned hundreds of millions of VND.

“In 2016, I saved money to buy large trucks, small trucks, straw rolling machines, and drying lines to increase productivity, expand scale, and meet market demand. This spring crop 2023, my 4 straw rolling machines and 22 workers have been working continuously since the beginning of April. From the fields in the central region of Quang Nam, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai to Nghe An. Next month, we will move to Ninh Binh, Hai Duong... wherever there are fields and straw, we will collect there. Rotating, from the end of the winter-spring crop to the summer-autumn crop, each year the straw collection work lasts from 6-7 months,” said Mr. Hoang Van Anh.

Each straw collector is paid from 700,000 VND - 1.5 million VND/day (depending on the job). Photo: TP

According to calculations, each harvest, Mr. Anh's straw collection team collects thousands of tons of straw. Workers are paid from 700,000 to 1.5 million VND/day (depending on the job). After deducting labor costs, gasoline, and machine wear and tear, Mr. Anh also earns from 400 to 500 million VND/harvest.

“Each bundle of straw weighs from 18 - 20kg, the selling price is from 20,000 - 25,000 VND, dried straw costs from 40,000 VND/roll. After drying, the straw is packed into blocks and will be exported to livestock farms in Nghe An province or transported to some northern provinces such as Hai Duong, Moc Chau (Son La)... The livestock feed market is large, the demand for straw for livestock, mushroom growing, organic fertilizer, and mulching for crops is large, so we collect as much as we export, there is never any unsold stock.

The dried straw warehouse of Mr. Hoang Van Anh. Photo: TP

Currently, there have been many orders to export straw to Korea, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand with quantities of up to hundreds of thousands of tons and values ​​up to billions of VND, but because the current straw source is not much, not enough to supply the domestic market, we have to refuse," Mr. Hoang Van Anh shared.

Currently, Mr. Anh is investing in a straw baling machine to store dry straw, increasing the price and value of the product. According to Mr. Anh, during the peak season, straw prices are cheaper, but during the cold winter, the demand for animal feed increases, while green food is scarce, so the price of straw increases dramatically. Each roll can cost up to 60,000-70,000 VND. Therefore, drying and pressing straw into blocks to store in warehouses will be a solution to increase the value of straw.

After being dried and compressed, the straw is sold to livestock and crop farms. Photo: TP

When asked about the issue of turning straw into an export product, 8X Hoang Van Anh said: “That is the direction I am aiming for. However, we must invest in more machinery, contact and connect with the fields to create a stable source of raw materials to ensure output for export. Now, straw is no longer a by-product or waste product but a valuable commodity if we know how to exploit it well from the market.”