Processing eel - a money-making profession in Yen Thanh

(Baonghean.vn) - Long Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District, annually purchases and supplies dozens of tons of processed eels to the national market. This profession has created jobs and increased income for hundreds of local workers.

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Ms. Tran Thi Chuong, owner of an eel processing facility in Bac Son hamlet, Long Thanh commune, sorts eels before entering the processing stages.

For many years, farmers in Long Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district have boldly invested in building eel purchasing and processing facilities to meet all customer needs.

Ms. Tran Thi Chuong, owner of an eel processing facility in Bac Son hamlet, Long Thanh commune, said: To ensure the quality of eel after processing, the eel must be alive. The eel is put through boiling water mixed with salt and crushed fresh turmeric to remove the slime, firm the meat and not crack.

The family of Ms. Tran Thi Chuong in Bac Son hamlet has been purchasing and processing eels for more than 5 years. Ms. Chuong said: On average, she purchases and processes 400 - 500 kg of eels per day, attracting 13 regular workers and about 10 seasonal workers. Processing eels is not too complicated, but the correct technical process must be followed to ensure the quality and nutritional value of the eels.

When eels are caught in the field, they must be alive. When preparing them, boil water, mix salt and crushed fresh turmeric or pure turmeric powder, and add the eels to clean the slime, prevent the meat from cracking, and give it a nice yellow color. Then take it out and use a bamboo knife to cut the eels, removing the internal organs, bones, and head. For every 1kg of eel that has been processed, you will get about 0.7kg of eel meat.

In Long Thanh, there are 20 eel purchasing and processing facilities, each facility creates jobs for about 15-30 workers on average, at least 5-7 workers, with income reaching 4-6 million VND/month.

The important step is to separate the bones and meat of the eel.

Previously, customers bought live eels in Styrofoam boxes at VND85,000-90,000/kg, but now they mainly buy eels with meat removed at VND140,000-150,000/kg. The number of workers involved in the processing is increasing and they have stable incomes.

Ms. Dinh Thi Phuong - An eel processing worker shared: Before, after the harvest season, women often had to go to the fields to catch crabs and snails, the work was hard, but since the eel processing profession was established, women have started working, the work is not too hard, each month women have about 4.5 - 6 million VND, we can buy by-products such as bones, heads, and tails of eels to make animal feed.

After going through the steps, the eel will have a finished product, beautiful yellow meat, and a very attractive turmeric aroma.

Currently, Long Thanh commune has about 20 large-scale eel purchasing and processing facilities, not to mention the number of "subcontract" processing facilities for households. At peak times, these facilities import about 1.5 - 3 tons of eel per day, then process and sell it to markets inside and outside the province, mainly Vinh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and partly to China. During the period from July to October of the lunar calendar, the quantity of goods consumed is very large, at this time, in addition to the fixed number of employees of each facility of 30 - 35 people, they also have to hire an additional 10 - 15 workers to work continuously during the day to complete the work and meet the orders.

Eels are packaged, each package weighs 1kg, depending on the needs, customers can come and pick them up immediately or they can be stored in the freezer, ensuring enough quantity according to the order before exporting. At this time, eels are mainly imported for restaurants and hotels to cook eel porridge and process some dishes to serve tourists.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Sy - Vice Chairman of Long Thanh Commune People's Committee said: The profession of purchasing and processing eels has brought great efficiency, households that have invested and established purchasing and processing facilities have become visibly rich, with an average net profit of 30 - 50 million VND per month, with large households earning up to hundreds of millions of VND per year. It creates regular jobs for about 150 - 200 workers, not to mention seasonal workers.

In addition, by-products such as bones, heads, and tails of eels also create conditions for the development of poultry and waterfowl farming in the locality. This is a sideline but has actually provided the main income, so the Party Committee and the Commune People's Committee have also made a comprehensive assessment and have many policy mechanisms such as creating a legal corridor, location, and land, then contacting the Yen Thanh Electricity Authority to allow households to have their own power system to install machinery and freezers for purchasing and processing.

Mr. Tuan

Yen Thanh Radio Station