Warm hawthorn

When the late summer rains gradually stop giving way to the gentle golden sunshine, it is also the time when the Northwest mountains and forests enter the hawthorn harvest season. The Mong people in the highland villages from Lao Chai, Nam Co to Tram Tau eagerly wait for traders to come and buy, bringing in a large source of income.

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Hawthorn products are interested in participating in trade promotion programs.

Hawthorn, also known as cat apple, grows naturally in forests and interspersed with natural forests on high mountain peaks in Tram Tau, Mu Cang Chai, Lao Cai province. This is a native tree, with strong vitality, so it can be planted in places with poor soil, steep hills, helping to retain soil, prevent erosion, landslides, especially during the rainy season, contributing to greening bare land, bare hills and bringing economic efficiency.

Therefore, for many years, communes in this area have encouraged and mobilized people to plant, care for, protect and propagate hawthorn trees - considering this a sustainable poverty reduction tree. People receive support for seedlings, labor to plant and care for additional planted forests and receive all products when the trees bear fruit; receive wages for forest protection; receive training, transfer of forest enrichment techniques and other services.

After harvest, hawthorn is gathered at the assembly point, waiting for traders to come and buy.

In return, people committed to protecting and caring for planted forests according to regulations. Thanks to that, up to now, hawthorn trees have developed into a specialty commodity area of 10,000 hectares, of which about 50% of the area has been harvested, with an output of over 7,000 tons/year, and a revenue of nearly 40 billion VND per year. Mr. Sung Thanh Cong, Chairman of Nam Co Commune People's Committee shared:

Over the years, hawthorn trees have brought economic efficiency, contributing to reducing the multidimensional poverty rate of the commune by an average of 8%/year, and by 10.57% in 2024 alone. The commune has formed a raw material area of over 1,400 hectares of hawthorn; of which, about 300 hectares have yielded fruit, with an average yield of 1.5 - 2 tons/ha. The locality hopes that the province will continue to support and link with businesses and production and processing facilities to purchase hawthorn at stable prices so that people can feel secure in production and escape poverty sustainably.

The time from August to October every year is the hawthorn harvest season. Localities are actively propagating to people not to harvest massively, to sell just enough quantity to the market every day, and not to let traders force down prices.

Mu Cang Chai people harvest hawthorn.

From early morning, Ms. Sung Thi Bla’s family in Trong Khua village, Lao Chai commune has been diligently pruning ripe, beautifully shaped fruits according to orders. From the tree, the ripe yellow hawthorn fruits are carefully picked, put into baskets, and then transported to the market or purchasing points.

Ms. Sung Thi Bla shared: At the beginning of the season, the price is higher, the whole family wakes up early, goes to the fields, and selects each fruit to sell to traders. Currently, the price of hawthorn fruit is 8,000 - 10,000 VND/kg, in the main season it is only 4,000 - 6,000 VND/kg. Although the price is not high, every year the family harvests about 3 - 4 tons of fruit, earning about 20 million VND/year, higher than growing rice and corn because there is no cost for seeds, materials, or care. Every year, as long as livestock is not destroyed, the fruit is not stolen, and fires are not allowed, planting hawthorn once can yield a long-term harvest.

In Lao Chai commune today, a small grower can earn about ten million VND, a large grower can earn several tens of million VND. Compared to urban areas, this source of income is still low. However, for each Mong family, working all year round, after deducting all expenses, although the income is less than ten million VND, it is still a good source of income. Selling hawthorn fruit, families have money to take care of their children for the new school year, buy buffaloes and cows to develop the economy...

Not only selling fresh fruit, hawthorn is also processed into many products such as hawthorn wine, dried hawthorn, jam, dried apricot, vinegar, tea, candy, hawthorn pickle... which are exported nationwide by production facilities in the province, increasing the value of this typical agricultural product.

In particular, in the province, there are many enterprises, cooperatives, and business households that have researched and invested in machinery and processing technology so that hawthorn is not only a raw product but also canned, has logos, labels, and quality standards...

Ms. Doan Thi Luong, Director of Doan Luong General Processing and Trading Cooperative, Yen Bai Ward, shared: Hawthorn fruit has a sour, astringent, and less sweet taste, so not everyone likes it. Therefore, we have researched and combined spices to create new products that suit consumer tastes. For example, jams, dried apricots... combine sugar, salt, and ginger in appropriate amounts to keep the original delicious taste; adjust the temperature and time when cooking or drying to create a chewy, rich taste. Up to now, we have brought 4 products (dried apricots, jams, wine, vinegar) to the market, which have been well received and responded very positively by consumers. 3/4 of these products have been recognized as 3-star OCOP products.

Hawthorn is processed into a variety of products.

The Gia Traditional Medicine and Oriental Medicine Production Company Limited has also invested in a modern, automated production line to process a variety of products from hawthorn berries such as: Shan Thinh hawthorn tea in powder form, hawthorn juice in cans, hawthorn C candy, hawthorn juice with fruit jelly. The products ensure food hygiene and safety standards of the Ministry of Health and European export standards, and are certified as 4-star OCOP products of the province. Currently, the Company has also signed an exclusive distribution contract with Hai Ha Confectionery Company, bringing the product to the market in the southern provinces.

The hawthorn harvest season is coming. The fruit with a characteristic sour taste has brought prosperity to growers, becoming many specialty products with brands and quality, contributing to the development of the local economy, affirming the position of Lao Cai agricultural products in the market.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/no-am-son-tra-post879889.html