A farmer in the central province of Quảng Ngãi’s Trà Bồng District harvests cinnamon bark. — Photo baomoi.com

QUẢNG NGÃI — Cinnamon growers in the central province of Quảng Ngãi’s Trà Bồng District are happy with the ongoing bumper cinnamon season, with increasing exports of this spice to Europe, the Middle East and the United States.   

Since mid-February, nearly 1,000 tonnes of fresh cinnamon bark was purchased by enterprises and local traders.    

The peak harvest season of the spice started two months ago, when farmers were busy peeling cinnamon bark from the trees in the immense cinnamon forests of Trà Bồng District.

Hồ Thị Hương, owner of a farm with 1,000 cinnamon trees in Trà Hiệp Commune, said she had to hire 20 local people to harvest cinnamon during the season.

“Many trees on my farm are over 20 years old, so the thick bark can produce essential oils with the best quality,” she said, “of course, the price will be higher." 

The price of fresh cinnamon bark is about VNĐ50,000-55,000 per kg, and can be higher compared to previous years, according to Hương.

Each year, cinnamon growers here have two crops – from late February to April, and from July to August.

In Quảng Ngãi Province, Trà Bồng District is considered the capital of cinnamon trees, supplying raw materials for export processing enterprises.

Currently, there are three big enterprises purchasing fresh cinnamon bark here, mainly for export. Additionally, many traders came to local gardens to purchase cinnamon bark, branches and leaves.

Since the early cinnamon season, Hiếu Dũng Trading Enterprise, in Trà Sơn Commune has purchased 300 tonnes of fresh cinnamon bark.  

It is expected to buy an additional 300 tonnes, bringing the total purchase up 30 per cent against last year. These are mainly used for processing essential oils, household goods and for export.

Trần Thị Minh Hiếu, director of Hiếu Dũng Trading Enterprise, said that this year's export volume increased sharply against the previous season.

Fresh cinnamon bark will be processed before being exported to Europe and the Middle East.

Quảng Ngãi Province now is home to nearly 6,000 hectares of cinnamon grown mainly in mountainous districts with the average yield of 9.5 tonnes per hectare.

Trần Văn Sương, deputy chairman of Trà Bồng District People’s Committee, said cinnamon was the main crop that helped local people escape poverty.

In recent years, demand for cinnamon has become greater than ever when it was sold to buyers in the US and Europe, besides traditional markets in Asian countries.— VNS