"Market vendors" in Dong Ky

(Baonghean)Dong Ky, in Dien Ky commune, Dien Chau district, was formerly famous for a traditional, inherited trade: rice trading. In the past, people from Dong Ky would cycle along the roads to collect rice and paddy to sell to dealers. Now, they are all business owners who have built a renowned Dong Ky rice milling village brand.

Mr. Tran Ngoc from Dien Ky shared: "Rice trading is a profession that can be participated in by all social classes. From farmers with muddy hands and feet to demobilized soldiers and teachers taking advantage of summer breaks to trade rice... Back then, people mainly collected rice by bicycle. Nowadays, the rice trading profession in Dien Ky is growing stronger and stronger, quietly building a rice milling village called Dong Ky - buying and selling rice not only within the province but also collecting goods internationally."

At this time of year, the rice trading village in Dong Ky is bustling with activity, with trucks constantly coming and going, loading and unloading goods. Ms. Hong Hai, busy counting rice in preparation for shipment, paused to explain: "My family has been in this business for over 15 years. Initially, we were just small-scale rice traders collecting rice by bicycle and motorbike. Over time, we've accumulated experience and now we've opened a large agency. Ms. Hai's agency is now quite large in Dong Ky; we observed over 50 workers, including porters, rice mill operators, and rice polishing machine operators. Not to mention, it provides jobs for more than 15 trucks that operate regularly."



Workers are packaging rice at the Dong Ky food processing village.

Ms. Hai shared: "My family's agency sources rice from all over. Besides sourcing within the province, we also source rice from the Mekong Delta. After reaching an agreement, we transport the rice by waterway and receive it at Cua Lo Port. The rice is then processed at our family's factory, polished, and then packaged." According to Ms. Hai, this business provides year-round employment, with an average monthly sales of over 1,200 tons of rice, mainly to Hanoi, Yen Bai, and Hai Phong. This business requires significant capital; at times, Ms. Hai's family has sourced goods worth over 6 billion VND. Due to the stable business, more than 50 workers in Ms. Hai's family have regular employment with an average income of 5-6 million VND per person per month.

Next to it, Ms. Nguyen Tao's rice milling agency is also bustling with activity. Ms. Tao said: "The main sources of rice collected within the province are Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, Dien Chau, and Do Luong. At this time, we also have to go to Can Tho and Hau Giang to collect rice. We sell 700-800 tons of rice each month." According to Ms. Tao, the Dong Ky rice processing village is growing stronger because of doing business with reputable partners, from purchasing to selling. Therefore, sometimes when buying rice from southern provinces, they only need to call to specify the quantity and pick it up at Cua Lo Port. Thanks to the rice processing business, her family has a prosperous life, built a spacious house, and sent three children to university.

Mr. Pham Dinh Tan, Vice Chairman of the Dien Ky Commune People's Committee, added: Dong Ky Food Processing Village was recognized as a traditional craft village in 2008. From its spontaneous formation, the village now has 240 out of 500 households engaged in food processing, with over 20 households establishing large-scale rice purchasing and exporting businesses, averaging over 4000 tons of rice per month. Dong Ky village is gradually modernizing its food processing procedures using modern rice polishing machines, replacing manual operations. Thanks to the application of modern technology, the rice products achieve high quality and stable sales.

Van Truong