Price of palm fruit in Nghe An mountainous region doubled, supply cannot meet demand
(Baonghean.vn) - In winter, in many areas of Western Nghe An, people are entering the palm fruit harvest season. This is also a job that helps people in the highlands earn extra income, especially when the price of this specialty fruit doubles.
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| Palm trees are often planted in gardens by mountain people, around houses or on hills with the purpose of using palm leaves to roof houses. However, palm fruits are also a favorite food in the cold season in Thai villages. In addition to helping people earn income from selling palm leaves, Con Cuong people are now earning more from palm fruits. Photo: Ba Hau |
Mr. Lo Huynh Lan's family in Khe Ran village, Bong Khe commune, Con Cuong district, has a forest land area of 1.5 hectares. In addition to planting perennial trees, he has intercropped 150 palm trees. To date, the area of palm trees that have produced fruit is 100 trees.
Mr. Lan said that this year, due to favorable weather, the palm trees had a good harvest, on average each tree had 10 - 20 kg of fruit, depending on the tree. At this time, some palm trees have ripened, because there are few early-season palm trees, so they are also selling at a good price, 30,000 VND per kilo. This is quite a high price compared to the same time in 2017 (only 10 - 15,000 VND/kg).
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| Palm trees are grown a lot by Con Cuong people in Yen Khe, Bong Khe, Chi Khe communes... Large growers have over 2 hectares. Photo: Huu Vi |
According to Mr. Lan's estimate, if the whole season harvests over 1 ton of fruit, the income will be about 20 million VND. For a mountainous household, such an income is significant.
Palm trees are easy to grow, require little care, and are suitable for mountainous soil and climate, so they are considered a tree that helps improve the income of many households here.
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| People of Khe Ran village, Bong Khe commune (Con Cuong) harvest palm fruits. Photo: Ba Hau |
Ms. Luong Thi Hoa's family, Nua village, Yen Khe commune, has 10 palm trees, which are now bearing fruit.
Ms. Hoa said that this year in Yen Khe village, the yield of palm fruit is lower than last year, but the price is good, so there is a good income from selling palm fruit. In addition, people also pick palm leaves to sell.
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| Recently, palm fruit has become a commodity that helps women in villages earn extra income. Photo: Huu Vi |
Khe Ran, Bong Khe commune, is a village located on the left bank of the Lam River, with 100% of the population being Thai ethnic people. In addition to developing key crops such as cassava and acacia, Khe Ran village is also known as the locality with the largest palm growing area in Con Cuong district.
Mr. Lo Van Thang - Head of Khe Ran village said: The whole village currently has 160 households, most of which grow palm trees with a total area of 150 hectares. Palm trees are a tree with a dual income source from fruit and leaves, so they have helped many households in the village improve their daily lives.
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| Braised palm fruit is a typical winter dish of Thai people in mountainous areas. Photo: Huu Vi |
Every palm season, Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, residing in Tuong Son commune (Anh Son), goes out of his way to find and buy palms to sell wholesale to lowland areas. Mr. Tho said that the market demand for this mountain fruit is currently increasing. He can sell about half a ton of fruit every day. Palm leaves and palm fruits are hot-selling items and are very easy to sell, traders often buy directly at home. However, supply often cannot meet demand.
