Thanh Chuong black plum specialty is in short supply, prices are rising
(Baonghean.vn) - These days, Thanh Chuong people are harvesting black canarium fruit in large quantities. This year, black canarium fruit had a poor harvest, so the price was high right from the beginning of the season.
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In Nghe An, black plums are found in many districts, but Thanh Chuong plums are the most famous for their delicious and distinctive quality. In the photo: Plum garden of Mr. Nguyen The Ha's family in Hamlet 13, Thanh Huong Commune. |
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Although the area of hybrid canarium planting is increasing, the main fruiting canarium trees currently are natural canarium, growing in gardens and forests with the characteristic of tree trunks tens of meters high, concentrated in communes such as Cat Van, Thanh Nho, Hanh Lam, Thanh Duc, Thanh Lam, Thanh Tung... The annual canarium fruit output harvested in the district is about several hundred tons. |
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The fruit is small, green when it first sets, and turns black when it ripens, covered with a layer of white powder. From July to September is the black fruit harvest season. |
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| The canarium tree is tall and has a wide canopy. Canarium pickers must climb the tree and use a pole to poke at the fruit clusters. The tools used to pick canarium are crescent-shaped metal pieces or blades tied diagonally to the pole, the top part is used to cut, the bottom part is used to hang on the branches. The most difficult part of picking canarium is climbing, because the tree trunk is tall, smooth, straight, and has no place to hold on. |
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In early summer, when the canarium fruit is already visible from the leaf stalks, canarium traders will spread out to the districts, searching for houses with canarium fruit to order. Once they have agreed on a price with the homeowner, they will leave a small deposit, from a few hundred thousand to a few million VND, waiting for the canarium fruit to ripen and then pay and harvest. Each mature canarium fruit tree is sold "young" for a few million VND, some even for 10-15 million VND. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhi - a long-time canarium trader in Thanh Tien commune said: This year's canarium fruit crop is bad, the yield is only 2/3 of last year's, many trees only have sparse fruit. However, the sparse fruit makes the canarium beautiful, big and fat. In the photo: Harvesting canarium fruit in steep terrain can be caught with a net. When exposed to the sun, canarium fruit often ripens and softens on the spot, so it must be harvested quickly. |
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Because harvesting long-term canarium is not easy, most canarium owners sell to traders, only a few households “keep the trees” to harvest and sell. A resident of Thanh Lam commune said: Last year his family’s two canarium trees sold for 10 million VND, this year there are few fruits, only selling for 4 million VND. |
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| Thanh Chuong black plum specialty with the advantages of beautiful fruit, delicious quality, clean food, can be processed into many attractive dishes such as braised plum, stir-fried plum, plum sticky rice... is loved by many people. |
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Every canarium season, localities with canarium often form teams to pick canarium for hire or they are also traders who also work as canarium climbers. |
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Thanh Chuong canarium is widely consumed in and outside the province. This year, canarium is rare, canarium purchasing points in the district all import at high prices, around 75 thousand VND/kg, while the retail price of canarium in the markets ranges from 80 - 90 thousand VND/kg, 15 - 20 thousand VND/kg higher than last year. This is the canarium crop failure but the "highest price" ever. |
