Unique straw market on Tet holiday in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) - In the days leading up to Lunar New Year, the straw market in Thanh Luong commune, Thanh Chuong district is busier. The by-product of the harvest is usually burned in rice fields or dried to feed buffalo and cows, but it is very expensive at this unique market.
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| These days, go onHighway46 sections from Ro bridge to Gang bridge, seeing women riding motorbikes carrying large bundles of straw, heading towards Con market, they are the people selling straw. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The straw trading location is a "field" straw market held at a three-way intersection, in Hamlet 2, Thanh Luong Commune, about 150m from Con Market (Thanh Duong). This is a spontaneous straw trading location, located next to the area.cemeteryThe neck stretches all the way to Highway 46. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The people who sell straw are mostly from Ngoc Son commune, while those who buy straw are mainly from neighboring communes such as Thanh Luong, Thanh Duong, Thanh Yen... Straw here is bought by people to feed buffaloes and cows. In the photo: The joy of a woman selling straw on the eve of Tet. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| This straw market is not far from the buffalo and cow market (Thanh Luong) and is located on the road to the market, so it is easy to see many people leading buffalo and cows to the market. Photo: Huy Thu |
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This year, the marketstrawThe meeting was earlier, and there were more people buying straw. On this occasion, families raising buffalo and cows in the area often measured the amount of dry food in their house to buy more straw to prevent buffalo and cows from lacking food during the lean season. Families buying less would buy a few carts, while families buying more would buy 5-7 carts of straw, or even more. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| People who buy straw often check the quality of the straw carefully. The price of straw is also higher than previous years. Each cart of straw, depending on the type of straw cut by sickle, harvested by personal machine or harvested by combined machine; the quality of the straw... costs from 100,000 to 120,000 VND. On days when the temperature drops, people wait for the carts of straw to arrive at the market and buy them immediately. Photo: Huy Thu |
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When the buyer and seller have successfully negotiated a price, the straw seller will bring the straw to the buyer's house. Ms. Ho Thi Thanh - from Ngoc Son commune said: My family grows 6 sao of rice fields, raises a few buffaloes and cows, and can cut grass, so every year we have a large amount of straw left over to sell. This year is colder than last year, so the straw sells well. Since the beginning of the season, no one has brought straw to the market and had it unsold. I think the price of straw is already expensive. If each sao of rice is harvested deep and dried in the sun, the straw can be sold for more than the price of rice. In the photo: Following the person buying straw. Photo: Huy Thu |
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Each market session, a person can sell from 1 to 4 carts of straw. After selling one cart, they go home to buy another. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| Mr. Nguyen Van Thai (54 years old) in Duong Nam hamlet, Thanh Duong commune, went to the market to buy straw and said: “My family raises 2 buffaloes, the straw is not enough for the buffaloes to eat, so every year we have to buy more straw. Up to now, my family has bought 1.5 million VND and will buy more. On average, 2 buffaloes eat 3 bundles of straw in 1 day and night, costing about 50,000 VND”. Photo: Huy Thu |
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| The closer to Tet, the busier the straw market becomes. Some families even bring their rickshaws and tire carts to the market to buy straw. Photo: Huy Thu |
| Close-up of straw cart going to market to sell. Clip: Huy Thu |
