QUANG NAM – These days, more than 360 households in Cam Ha ward, Hoi An city are busy taking care of 65,000 kumquat pots to sell for Tet Giap Thin.
Nearly two months until the Lunar New Year of Giap Thin, the kumquat garden in Cam Ha ward, Hoi An city begins to change color, the green fruit gradually turns to yellow. Every day people go to the garden to care for the fruit to ripen in time for Tet.
Mr. Phan Chan, Cam Ha commune, said that the profession of growing kumquats for Tet sale in Cam Ha has been around for more than 100 years, but has developed strongly since the 90s of the last century when the number of buyers was large.
Since then, Cam Ha has become the largest kumquat growing area in the Central region. To serve Tet, every year he plants 200-400 pots, minus the cost of earning more than 150 million VND, the annual price is nearly 300 million VND.
Unlike growing ornamental kumquats for Tet in the North, kumquats in Hoi An are grown in the fields for about two years from a young age. In the third year, from September to October of the lunar calendar, people uproot kumquat trees into pots.
To have pots of kumquats to sell during Tet, you have to go through many stages and spend a lot of effort. After more than a year of growing in pots, people have to regularly spray pesticides to prevent pests, prune branches, water, fertilize, and remove bad fruits…
Every day, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh goes to the garden early in the morning to water the kumquats, then takes care of the trees and cuts off the small fruits. “This year I planted 600 pots, reaching the quality of 500 pots is too successful. Currently, traders have ordered nearly 400 pots,” said a 56-year-old man with 20 years of experience growing kumquats.
The criteria for a pot of kumquats to get a good price are the leaves, the fruit are large, and bring good fortune during Tet. Many types of kumquat are grown, selling for 0.7-5 million VND per pot. Large, beautiful trees sell for tens of millions of dong, mini kumquats for 70,000-150,000 dong.
Every year around the 10th lunar month, traders from the Central and Central Highlands come to the garden to see and place orders. After agreeing on the price, the buyer writes his name, marks it, and consigns it for the garden owner to take care of until Tet before selling it.
To serve kumquat growers, Cam Ha commune has many people specializing in pot casting. Pots are made of cement, selling for 30,000-100,000 VND each depending on size.
Near Tet, the owner of the kumquat garden puts each pot on a cart and takes it to the street to hand it over to traders.
To beautify, the garden owner paints the pots before delivering them to customers.
Mr. Mai Thanh Hung, Vice Chairman of Cam Ha commune, said kumquat growing accounts for a large proportion of the commune’s economy, with revenue of about 55 billion VND in 2022. This year, people planted about 65,000 pots, an increase of more than 20,000 pots compared to last year.
“Currently, farmers sell 60% of their kumquats. Compared to last year, sales are slower because of the economic recession. Customers are businesses and people, so their income is reduced, so they buy fewer kumquats to celebrate Tet,” Mr. Hung said.
($1~24,000 VND)
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)