There was a time when a bunch of moldy bananas exchanged a tonne of rice

Mr. Hoang Minh Son, Long Hop hamlet, Tan Long commune, took us to the family's 1 hectare of moldy bananas. The scorching sun in the early days of June made the banana ship wither and droop. Bananas can't stand before the wind and sun. The stems become short and small. The fruit is as tiny as the tip of a thumb.

He sighed and said regretfully: "This year, despite the drought, if my family invests in taking care of it, this 1 hectare of bananas can earn VND hundred million. But the price of bananas in the past few years has been so low my family has neglected them, so since the beginning of the year, it has only collected about VND 40 million.

Mr. Son recalls that at one point, the price of moldy bananas sold at Tan Long market was up to 6,000-7,000 VND/kg, his family pooled capital and then borrowed more money from banks to rent land to grow bananas in Laos. But that was the golden age of banana honey mold. When the Covid-19 epidemic appeared, the output of bananas was blocked, the trader at Tan Long market stopped buying, and his family's 10 hectares of bananas in Laos gradually faded away. Mr. Son's family fell into heavy debt and had to leave the banana garden to return to his hometown to work as a gardener.

Like Mr. Son, in the past time, many households of the Pako Van Kieu ethnic group in the Huong Hoa district did not dare to invest wholeheartedly in fertilizing bananas with moldy honey. Moldy banana is easy to grow on this land, but the price fluctuates up and down. Sometimes the cost of moldy banana bananas falls only 1,700 – 2,000 VND/kg on average. Many people have cut down banana gardens and switched to cassava and acacia. Some households cut ripe bananas for cattle to eat. The area's banana orchards have fallen into disrepair for the past two or three years.

However, some households still take care of banana gardens to expect a day when prices will gradually rise, especially during the Lunar New Year and the full moon day, the 1st of every month.

Despite the Covid-19 epidemic, on the occasion of Tet, beautiful moldy bananas sold for burning incense are "priceless". Sometimes, a bunch of bananas can be exchanged for a tonne of rice. Banana market on Tet holiday becomes a beauty contest of thousands of banana booths from all over Huong Hoa district and even Laos.

"Last Tet (New Year of the Rat - Reporter), there was a chamber with eight beautiful banana bunches, sold at Tan Long market, "screaming" for VND 6 million, and people bought them immediately. And 3-4 million per chamber is a lot. But the Pako Van Kieu people who grow bananas hope that the price of bananas will be stable, but they can't get rich just because the price of bananas increases in 3 days of Tet. Therefore, not only selling at the market, large enterprises must invest in purchasing and processing bananas locally," shared Mr. Nguyen Duc Thang, Vice Chairman of Tan Long Commune People's Committee.

Only a few months ago, when the Chinese market opened, Tan Long's honey banana market was bustling again. Many traders went to the middle of the road to transport motorbikes to bring in bananas to buy and collect. Trucks from everywhere also come to Tan Long market to hunt goods. The banana market also lasts from early morning until afternoon.

According to the observations of a VAN reporter, in the early morning of the first day of June, the Tan Long market was crowded with sellers and buyers. Every day, about 4-6 trucks (15-20 tons/vehicle) appear at Tan Long market to "eat" goods. Each beautiful, old banana box is bought by the merchants from the people and brought to the market, ranging from VND 80,000 – VND 100,000.

Unlike in the past, at present, moldy bananas are cut into separate bundles by the dealers, put in baskets, and transported to the truck. These shipments are busy to the South and the North. Some quality-assured shipments will be transported and exported by traders to China and Thailand.

"The number of bananas exported daily at Tan Long market is 3-4 times higher than in 2022. The price of bananas we currently buy is also 2-3 times higher than last year. Not only beautiful bananas but bananas that are old enough will also be purchased. However, unlike in the past, bananas exported to China and Thailand must be guaranteed not to be scratched, cut into separate bundles, and carefully arranged in baskets," - a buyer buying bananas at Tan Long market said.

Tan Long Market meets on all days of the month. Pako Van Kieu people throughout Tan Long, Tan Lien, and Lia area communes, even Vietnamese who grow bananas in Laos, also use motorbikes with about 7-8 bunches to bring to the Tan Long market to sell. Each shipment will bring people from VND 400,000 – VND 600,000. That is a large amount of money for the income of the people here.