When April comes, the mulberry fields in Hiep Thuan commune, Phuc Tho district in Hanoi turn red, promising a bumper harvest. In recent years, growing mulberries has helped raise incomes for locals.
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.