Tet season of specialty craft villages in the West

People in dried sea villages increase production to meet the demand during Tet holiday.

Dried sea village busy during Tet season

Coastal districts of Ca Mau province such as Phu Tan, Nam Can, Dam Doi, Ngoc Hien, etc. are currently in the season of exploiting, catching and harvesting aquatic products, so input materials at purchasing facilities are sufficient to meet market demand.

With the largest and most famous dried fish village in Ca Mau, these days, more than 100 businesses and households producing and trading dried fish in Cai Doi Vam town (Phu Tan district) are working hard every day to deliver goods on time for the 2025 Lunar New Year. At this time, on average, each person who makes dried fish for hire earns from 200,000 - 400,000 VND/day, so people are also taking advantage of the opportunity to increase their income during the Tet holiday.

People process dried anchovies to serve the needs of Tet holiday.

Having been drying fish for more than 2 years, Ms. Pham Thi Hang (residing in Hamlet 4, Cai Doi Vam town) shared: “Every day I earn more than 300,000 VND, which is also an additional income to cover my family's living expenses. Dried fish is usually dried for 2-3 days to ensure long-term storage and delicious taste.”

Ms. Ly Anh Thu, Director of Anh Thu Cooperative in Rach Goc Town, Ngoc Hien District, said that to prepare for Tet, the cooperative has prepared about 6 tons of various goods. According to Ms. Thu, this year's market demand is higher than last year, the amount of braised fish, silver fish, and mackerel are favored by customers, so purchasing power has increased 3 times compared to before.

People in the dried village of Dong Hai district, Bac Lieu province, are busy preparing products for the Lunar New Year.

At the dried sea village in Ganh Hao town (Dong Hai district, Bac Lieu province), the working atmosphere is also very bustling. The dried sea village here is divided into many levels, from small traditional dried families to large-scale production facilities.

Ms. Thanh Thuy, owner of Thanh Thuy dried food production facility (Ganh Hao town) said that in recent days, her facility has produced on average over 1 ton of various dried foods, including shrimp rolls and spring rolls. Orders are increasing, the facility has to increase its workforce and operating capacity to be able to supply enough. “After production, the dried foods are sold to neighboring provinces such as Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Can Tho or Ho Chi Minh City…”, Ms. Thuy shared.

According to Mr. Ho Thanh Tuan, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Hai district, with nearly 40 production and processing facilities, each year, the dried seafood production facilities in Ganh Hao town supply the market with 500 - 700 tons of various types. Building the OCOP brand not only increases the value but also helps the dried seafood products in Ganh Hao to reach further.

Dried sea food from villages in the Western provinces is always present in the meals of many families.

Bustling rice paper making village

Along with dried fish, rice paper is one of the popular dishes during Tet holiday of people in the Mekong Delta and many regions, bought by many people as gifts for relatives during Tet.

As Tet approaches, in traditional rice paper villages such as May Islet (Luc Si Thanh Commune, Tra On District, Vinh Long Province), Thuan Hung Village (Thuan Hung Ward, Thot Not District, Can Tho City), people are working busily from dawn until late at night. With so many orders, some households have had to add 3-4 rice paper ovens; some households have invested hundreds of millions of dong in equipping modern production lines, including drying ovens, both for their own products and for those who are hired to dry them.

Rice paper makers in Thuan Hung craft village prepare Tet goods for customers

With over 30 years of experience, Ms. Ha Thi Sau (Thuan Hung Ward, Thot Not District, Can Tho City) said that during this year's Tet holiday, her facility produces about 10,000 rice paper rolls a day. In addition to regular customers, there are many new customers coming to place orders.

“This job is very hard but also fun, because every day there is a steady income, no need to work for others. During Tet, it is even busier, more bustling and the income is higher, so everyone is excited about the job,” said Mrs. Sau.

According to Ms. Sau, this year, she made more rice paper and customers ordered more than usual, so her facility had to hire more workers to meet the delivery deadline. The cost of hiring workers per day is 300,000 VND/person.

To serve Tet rice paper, from the 11th lunar month, Mrs. Tran Thi Yen's rice paper facility has started to get busy.

Ms. Tran Thi Yen (owner of a rice paper shop in Thuan Hung Ward, Thot Not District, Can Tho City) shared that in order to serve people celebrating Tet, her rice paper shop has been busy since the 11th lunar month. Every day, everyone has to start working from 1am until around 3pm to finish in time to deliver to customers.

Currently, Ms. Yen's facility has many types of rice paper and each type has a different price. In particular, the price of plain rice paper ranges from 65,000 - 70,000 VND/70 cakes; sweet rice paper is 140,000 VND/100 cakes, special rice paper is 300,000 VND/100 cakes; grilled coconut and sesame rice paper is 350,000 VND/100 cakes.

“Although it is hard, we can earn 1 million VND per day, double or triple the income compared to normal days, so everyone in the rice paper village is excited,” Ms. Yen added.

Thanh craft villages are busy during Tet holiday

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/mua-tet-cua-lang-nghe-dac-san-mien-tay-1737055637040.htm