On an April day, we visited a mulberry growing area in Hiep Thuan, which is on alluvial ground along the Day River. Farmers were hurriedly picking the ripe fruit to keep it from rotting. All the harvested fruit must be sold within a day. On peak days when the mulberries all ripened, growers had to hire workers to pick the fruit at 200,000 dong/person/day. Some 30 families grow mulberries in this area, each of which harvests an average of 100-150 kg a day during peak harvest time.

Hiep Thuan has a two-hectare mulberry growing area.  Picking mulberries requires care as the fruit easily gets rotten.  Juicy mulberry fruit in the early harvest season.  Ripe mulberry bunches. It is not easy picking bunches with both ripe and green fruit. Picking the ripe fruit while keeping the unripe intact is an art. Mulberries can be eaten fresh or made into syrup, a great drink in summer. Picking the fruit, two people working all day can harvest about 50 kg. Standing on a chair to pick the fruit from a high tree.  Ready for sale. Before being packed, the fruit must be kept in a cool place. A merchant buys mulberries at the orchard. Lunch break in the orchard.

Hiep Thuan’s mulberries sell well given the rising demand for this fruit which is used to produce jam, syrup, wine and milk.