Nghe An: Black olive specialty fetches high prices, harvest can't keep up with demand.

Thanh Chuong black olive trees are mainly grown in home gardens and hillside orchards. The majority of the trees currently bearing abundant fruit are purebred, long-standing trees, tall with wide canopies and abundant fruit, scattered across mountainous communes. Some households have only 1-2 trees, while others have 7-8. Notably, some households have entire orchards with dozens of fruit-bearing olive trees. Photo: Huy Thu

According to local farmers, this year's persimmon harvest is not very good and the fruit is ripening later than usual. In previous years, persimmons would ripen in late June or early July according to the lunar calendar, but this year it's almost the 15th day of the 7th lunar month before the season begins. When persimmons ripen, they must be harvested at the right time; if harvested too early, many will be green, and if harvested too late, the fruit will be sticky with sap, a condition known as "smelly persimmons." Photo: Huy Thu

During this time, those who work as pickers of canarium fruit, and those who trade in unripe canarium fruit (buying it directly from the tree), intensify their harvesting. Localities with abundant canarium fruit also form groups of 2-5 people who work as hired pickers. Some individuals are both canarium fruit traders and pickers. (Photo: Huy Thư)

Harvesting olives in steep, overgrown areas, olive pickers often set up nets around the base of the trees. Thanks to these wide nets, harvesting olives near ponds and streams remains safe and minimizes losses. Photo: Huy Thu

Picking olives is a difficult and dangerous job. Pickers have to climb the trees and use poles to knock each olive down to the ground. Careful pickers usually wear safety harnesses in case of accidents, but many pickers just climb without safety gear, because, according to them, "wearing it makes it difficult to work." Photo: Huy Thu

The plum harvesting season has created jobs for hundreds of workers. In Thanh Chuong district, communes such as Thanh Nho, Thanh Linh, and Thanh Tien... are areas with many people engaged in the plum trading and harvesting business. In particular, Thanh Nho commune has about 100 workers in the plum harvesting profession. Plum pickers earn 500,000 - 600,000 VND/day, while those who collect plums earn 200,000 - 250,000 VND/day. Photo: Huy Thu

In recent years, as black olives have become a popular, clean, and delicious specialty food, selling at exorbitant prices in the market, olive growers in Thanh Chuong district seem happier. Each household, with just a few purebred olive trees bearing abundant fruit, can earn tens of millions of dong each harvest season. However, it takes 7-8 years of planting and caring for a purebred olive tree to bear fruit. Mr. Nguyen Van Vinh (71 years old) from Thanh Thinh commune (Thanh Chuong) said that his family has two olive trees that bear fruit. This year, they sold them to traders at the beginning of the season and earned 7.5 million dong. (Photo: Huy Thu)

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ky, a long-time canarium fruit trader and climber in Thanh Tien commune, said: "Most tall canarium trees currently yield around 100 kg of fruit per tree. Some large trees yield 300 kg, and exceptionally, some trees yield 450 kg." It is estimated that Thanh Chuong district sells hundreds of tons of canarium fruit to the market each year. Thanh Chuong canarium fruit is fragrant, has a distinctive flavor, and can be used to prepare many delicious dishes such as braised canarium fruit, stir-fried canarium fruit, sweet and savory canarium fruit stew, canarium fruit cooked in a mock-dog stew style, canarium fruit braised with meat, canarium fruit sticky rice, and salted canarium fruit... Photo: Huy Thu

After harvesting, black olives are usually selected, discarding those that are just ripe, rotten, or infested with blemishes to ensure the best quality. Depending on whether the olives are sold whole to traders or harvested by local households, they are either sold in local markets or transported further afield. Families who harvest olives themselves usually need someone who knows how to climb trees. Last year, due to disease, the price of black olives dropped sharply (40,000 - 60,000 VND/kg). This year, the retail price of olives in markets in Thanh Chuong district is around 100,000 VND/kg. Photo: Huy Thu

There are many black olive purchasing points in Thanh Chuong district. In Thanh Nho commune alone, there are 7-8 points. From these purchasing centers, black olives are collected, packaged, and transported to provinces and cities throughout the South and North, most notably to Hanoi. Ms. Tran Thi Thao (44 years old) from Thanh Lien commune said: "Currently, it's the beginning of the season, so there aren't many olives yet. Each day, the purchasing center only buys about 1 ton of olives, and we buy everything we can get." Photo: Huy Thu