Cua Lo specialties during Tet season

(Baonghean.vn) - There are only 10 days left until the new year of At Mui 2015. At this time, along with the atmosphere of Tet shopping and home renovation, many families have made a list of food for Tet meals or gifts for friends and relatives. Because of that, the atmosphere in many specialty craft villages in Cua Lo town is bustling with buying and selling.

Present at the seafood processing village in Hai Giang Block, Nghi Hai Ward - Cua Lo Town - which is considered the supplier of grilled mackerel specialties not only for Cua Lo but also for the whole province, we easily noticed a bustling working atmosphere.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nom has been grilling mackerel for 20 years. -Photo: Quynh Trang

Guests coming to the house cannot stop their work, talking and quickly turning pieces of fish on hot coals, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nom - owner of Hung Nom grilled mackerel business, chatted enthusiastically.

She said that since the beginning of the 12th lunar month, her family and many families in the block have had customers buying Tet goods. On average, each day the family grills and delivers 400-500 kg of grilled mackerel. Last year, the family reserved 12 tons of fresh fish to grill for Tet, but this year, according to the number of customers ordering, the family has prepared a source of about 20 tons of fish, nearly double compared to last year. Customers are mainly from Cua Lo, Vinh, further away from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Prices up to this point, the head and tail prices are about 80,000 VND/kg, fish meat is from 200,000 VND - 220,000 VND/kg, only slightly increased compared to last month. To meet the customers' demand, these days the family has had to mobilize both children and hire more workers to grill and transport fish.

Many women in Nghi Hai ward have extra income thanks to the Tet fish crop. -Photo: Quynh Trang

Asked about the secret to nearly doubling the quantity of goods compared to last year, Ms. Nom just smiled and said that her family is always conscious of improving their products, from selecting fish, to grilling and especially ensuring stable prices. There are cases where the goods are transported far away, the goods may be affected by the customer's preservation, but the family is still happy to exchange the goods if the customer is not satisfied. Every day, fish are transported from Cua Lo to Vinh city 5 to 6 times. This year, the family plans to serve customers who order until the 30th of Tet because on that day, there are still customers who pick up goods to send to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. And after Tet, on the 4th, the facility has started to heat the coals for the first batch of fish of the year. She also said that each Tet fish crop also brings the family an income of several tens of millions of dong, so everyone is proactive.

Fresh mackerel grilled properly can be preserved for a long time in the freezer. -Photo: Quynh Trang

As a long-time customer, Mr. Nguyen Huu Lam - in Nghi Hai ward - Cua Lo town, this year came to Ms. Nom's house to buy fish to send to his friends in Hanoi. He said that grilled mackerel in Cua Lo has become a favorite dish not only of his family but also of many friends everywhere, especially in Hanoi. Every year, his friends ask him to get them a few kilos to eat during Tet because the fish is fresh and delicious.

According to statistics, there are currently 40 households in Cua Lo town specializing in grilled mackerel, Nghi Hai ward alone has 37 households, each household sells an average of 150 to 200 kg of grilled mackerel per day. This year's Tet holiday, the number of sales increased compared to last year. People are also more excited because grilled mackerel is becoming more and more popular. This year in particular, people in the profession are more excited because Cua Lo town has been supported with 260 million VND to build a brand for Cua Lo grilled mackerel, which will open up a better development direction for those in the profession and allow this specialty to reach more markets in the country.

Households in Hai Giang 1 fish sauce processing village fully prepare Tet goods - Photo: Quynh Trang

If grilled mackerel has more customers than last year, fish sauce - also a specialty of Cua Lo - seems to have less customers than last year. Ms. Le Thi Kim - owner of Vo Kim fish sauce production facility - the largest facility of Hai Giang 1 fish sauce craft village - Nghi Hai ward - Cua Lo town said that at this time last year, many people bought Tet goods but this year there are not many. The reason is that last year had a good anchovy season, so households in the village bought more fish, so the amount of fish sauce supplied to the market this year is also more. And the number of customers is also spread evenly among households in the craft village. With 4 types: special, premium, type 1 and type 2, with prices ranging from 20,000 VND to 80,000 VND/liter, this year her family prepared for Tet more than 10 thousand liters of special fish sauce.

Mr. Dang Quoc Dong - Deputy of the Village Management Board said that currently, the whole block has more than 70 households producing fish sauce, the output of mackerel purchased this year is up to 400 tons, in addition to serving the year, it also serves the following year because a production cycle lasts from 15 to 18 months. However, he also affirmed that this year's purchasing power is lower than last year. However, in order to maintain the profession and do better business during Tet, in addition to paying attention to product quality, businesses have also paid attention to taking care of and keeping their "regular" customers.

Tet is a business opportunity for many craft villages in Nghe An, especially craft villages specializing in essential goods for Tet. Understanding customer psychology, being quick in approaching the market, and paying attention to product quality are effective ways for businesses to make Tet the main business season of the year. Like Ms. Nom, Ms. Kim is taking care of her products so that in many families' Tet meals or as gifts for friends far away from home, many families are Cua Lo specialties such as fish sauce and mackerel./.

An Nhan