People in Con Cuong earn millions of dong every day from selling the "met" tree.

Harvesting bamboo in Lang Khe commune (Con Cuong district). Photo: Hai An

These days, heading up to the districtCon CuongAlong National Highway 7A, local people are harvesting bamboo, with many trucks loaded with bamboo being transported downstream.

Mr. Vi Van Nam, from Lang Khe commune, who was transporting bamboo from the forest to National Highway 7, said that his family has 120 clumps of bamboo planted 10 years ago.

Because customers placed orders in advance, Mr. Nam's family sells all the bamboo they harvest. They expect to harvest over 1,000 bamboo plants this year, with an average selling price of 15,000 VND per plant. They can harvest up to 100 bamboo plants a day, selling them to traders and earning millions of dong.

People in Con Cuong carry bamboo poles from the forest to the collection point. Photo: Van Truong

According to some locals, bamboo is an easy-to-grow plant, yielding a harvest in about 5 years. Importantly, both bamboo shoots and the entire bamboo plant can be harvested, providing year-round work. At times, they have to hire additional local laborers to help with harvesting and loading onto trucks when customers place large orders.

Trucks collecting timber in Con Cuong district along National Highway 7A. Photo: Van Truong

According to a report from the Con Cuong District Department of Agriculture, the district currently has over 3,300 hectares of rice paddies, concentrated mainly in the communes of Chau Khe, Bong Khe, Chi Khe, Binh Chuan, Lang Khe, Mon Son, Luc Da, Cam Lam, etc.

In 2022, the entire district harvested and sold over 1.2 million tons of produce to the market.meter tree,The revenue reached over 15 billion VND. In the first four months of 2023, Con Cuong district earned over 3.5 billion VND from the bamboo industry, thereby contributing to improving the lives of local people.