Drought, forest fires, Nghe An people lose blackberry harvest

These days, people in the Nhon hill area (Hung Nguyen) are rushing to harvest sim. Photo: Thanh Phuc

It is currently the season of ripe wild sim, people from Hung Tien, Hung Phu, Hung Lam, Hung Xuan, Hung Thang communes (Hung Nguyen) flock to the forest to pick sim. From 6am, Nhon hill was crowded with people, mostly women and children.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tinh, a resident of Hamlet 16, Hung Thang Commune, said: "For about 10 days now, taking advantage of the free time, the three of us have gone to Nhon Mountain to pick sim to import for traders. This year, the sim fruit is small and the harvest is poor, so each session we can only pick at most 5-7kg of sim, half the amount of last year."

If last year, at this time, on average each day, each person, if diligently picked a nest of sim, imported at 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg, there were families, 5 - 7 people picking, earning millions of dong per day. Many households earned tens of millions of dong/sim season. This year, the amount of sim is small, there are many pickers so the income is much lower than in previous years.

Forest fire in the Nhon forest area at the end of June 2019 burned down a large area of ​​sim trees. Photo courtesy

Mr. Le Van The - head of hamlet 1, Hung Lam commune (Hung Nguyen) shared: "Due to the prolonged drought, sim trees produce less fruit, the fruit is small, ripens quickly, the harvest time is shorter than every year, so the income is less. In addition, at the end of June, a fire broke out in Thanh mountain area (in Hung Xuan commune), the fire spread quickly to the forest in Hung Phu and Hung Lam communes, burning down many sim areas. Therefore, this year, the sim crop was lost due to the heat, and the exploitation area was narrowed, so people lost a significant source of income from sim fruit."

Sim is collected by facilities at a high price, from 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Hang Thanh - owner of a fresh sim purchasing agent in Hung Thang (Hung Nguyen) said: "The sim crop is out of season so purchasing is more difficult. If last year, we purchased tons of sim every day, this year we can only buy at most 100 kg per day, not enough to supply to the dealers.

Locals said that although this year's sim fruit is smaller and uglier than previous years, traders still buy it at the same high price as last year, 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg. Sim is purchased by traders to sell in markets, and people often buy it to soak in wine or make medicine.

According to folklore, wild sim fruit contains a sweet, astringent taste, has many health benefits, especially in treating blood deficiency, hemoptysis, nosebleeds, tinnitus, spermatorrhea... Ripe sim fruit can be used fresh, dried for later use or combined to make many nutritious products, very beneficial for health, especially for men.