A village in Nghe An that trades cattle and buffalo across borders.

The Ú Market in Đại Sơn commune is a place where people from all over trade buffalo and cattle. Previously, the market held six sessions a month on the 1st, 6th, 11th, 16th, 21st, and 26th of the lunar calendar. Each session saw thousands of buffalo and cattle being bought, sold, and exchanged by the locals. However, nowadays, due to high demand, the trade of buffalo and cattle no longer depends on the market sessions; many collection, buying, selling, and transit points for buffalo and cattle have sprung up daily in the hamlets near the Ú Market.

Arriving at Hamlet 3, Dai Son Commune in early November, from the early morning mist, cars from all over busily transported thousands of "foreign" buffaloes and cows to the central road of the commune. Large gathering points for the buffaloes and cows were surrounded by walls. Buyers could stand outside the fence to view the animals, or go inside the pens to see them firsthand. The buying and selling of buffaloes and cows here took place all day, from 5 am to 5 pm, with buyers and sellers always bustling about.

Mr. Ho Sy Nam, residing in Hamlet 2, Dai Son Commune, and the owner of a business specializing in collecting buffaloes and cows, stated: "Every day, we and other dealers jointly collect 200-300 buffaloes and cows from various places, mainly Laos and Thailand, and bring them here to sell all day to customers in the district and province, as well as exporting them to China. Depending on the weight of each buffalo or cow, the selling price usually ranges from 10-13 million VND. All buffaloes and cows purchased are inspected by the health authorities, and the trucks and barns are thoroughly disinfected."

According to owners of cattle collection businesses, to acquire such a large quantity of cattle—thousands of animals traded daily—Dai Son commune has a workforce of hundreds of laborers who specialize in "hunting" for cattle from all over. These traders spend many days traveling through remote villages in the province and in Laos and Thailand to select and purchase cattle before bringing them back to Dai Son commune.

Besides being healthy, buffaloes and cows are also selected based on their tall, long stature, making them easy to fatten and sell. Thanks to this profession, many laborers in Dai Son commune have stable jobs and improved their lives; those who collect buffaloes and cows earn 20-25 million VND per person per month.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Lam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dai Son commune, said: "Currently, the entire commune has over 600 households engaged in the buffalo and cattle trading business, of which 350 are professional traders. This is also a profession that helps local people get rich."

Besides the local people trading buffalo and cattle at the Ú market, the commune also has about 70 large livestock pens built by locals for "middlemen" to rent to "collect" buffalo and cattle from Laos and Thailand. These pens are used for daily buying and selling transactions, not just waiting for the Ú market day. These collection points generate a considerable income; under favorable conditions, some can earn over 200 million VND per month.

After purchasing a sufficient quantity, the middlemen will hire trucks to transport the animals domestically and internationally. In addition, many households directly involved in trading, herding, caring for, and renting out barns also buy cattle to fatten them up and resell them. According to calculations, raising them for about a month can yield a profit of 2-3 million VND per animal.

The cattle trading business in Dai Son commune, Do Luong district, has created jobs and increased income for many local people. However, Dai Son commune needs to regularly coordinate with specialized agencies to inspect and monitor disease prevention and control, as well as environmental hygiene in cattle collection areas.