(Baonghean.vn) - At midnight, we followed the rubber tappers and witnessed firsthand the hardships and difficulties they face. It's not easy for the people of Minh Hop to obtain this "white gold." While everyone else is sound asleep, the tappers begin their work and continue until the early morning of the next day.
Reporters from Nghe An Newspaper would like to present some images recently captured in Minh Hop commune (Quy Hop district):
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| Mr. Nguyen Hung, from Minh Ho hamlet, Minh Hop commune, is sharpening his knife in preparation for a new rubber tapping trip. |
 Before tapping rubber trees, the tappers would hang flashlights for each other. These flashlights not only helped the tappers see insects on the tree trunks but also allowed them to clearly see each cut made with the knife to extract the latex. |
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| In the flickering light of her flashlight, Ms. Le Thi Ngan carefully cut the trunk of the rubber tree to extract the latex. |
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| After 2 to 3 hours, the rubber tapping bowl is full of latex. For rubber trees, there are two tapping shifts per day: shift 1 from 6 PM to 12 AM, and shift 2 from 12 AM to 6 AM. |
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| Rubber tapping knives are cleaned immediately after each tapping session and carefully packaged to keep the blades sharp and in good condition. |
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| Ms. Le Thi Tu said: "After emptying the rubber from the bowl, we have to turn the bowl upside down to prevent rainwater from getting in, because even a little cold water will degrade the quality of the rubber. That's why no one goes to collect rubber latex on rainy days." |
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| While rubber prices were 15,000 VND/kg at this time last year, they are currently at a low of only 4,700 VND/kg. However, people still hope that rubber trees will remain a key crop in economic development. |
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| Despite the current low price of rubber, rubber farmers remain undeterred and committed to rubber cultivation. |
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A reporter from Nghe An Newspaper spent a night with rubber tappers in Minh Hop. The locals explained that they tap rubber at night because the cool evening air allows the rubber trees to produce more and higher-quality latex.
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Thu Huong - Dang Cuong
