Nghe An people flock to the forest to hunt for beehives, every few days Chinese traders come to buy them, offering millions of dong.

On this occasion, beehive purchasing facilities in the mountainous districts of Nghe An are operating strongly. Hanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) alone has more than 10 large and small purchasing facilities.

Honeycombs are divided into 2 types: nests with pupae cost from 380,000 - 410,000 VND/kg (twice as high as this time in 2023); shell nests are bought for 2,000,000 - 2,100,000 VND/kg (3 times as high as this time in 2023). In addition to honeycombs, painted honeycombs (with pupae) are also bought for 160,000 VND/kg. According to people in Hanh Lam commune, hunting for honeycombs is "real money", finding a honeycomb, bringing it home, weighing it, and getting money right away.

These days, many people in the mountainous areas of Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Tan Ky districts... are flocking to the forest to hunt for beehives, especially yellow beehives (also known as yellow beehives) because this type is being purchased at high prices by establishments. Women, sometimes even children, also go to the forest to hunt for beehives. Every afternoon, at the purchasing establishments, people are bustling about selling beehives. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Huu Thien (32 years old), owner of a beehive purchasing facility in Hamlet 4, Hanh Lam Commune (Thanh Chuong) said: His family has been purchasing beehives for nearly a month now. He also does not know what the beehives will be used for, only that he buys them to send to China. The separation of bee pupae requires both the nest shell and the bee pupae to be intact, not crushed.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Truong (23 years old) in Thanh My commune (Thanh Chuong) said: I and the local people have been hunting for yellow bee nests for the past 10 days. Yellow bees usually build nests on bushes on bare hills. Not only hunting in Thanh Chuong forest, his group also went to the forest in Ha Tinh to find bee nests. On average, each person going into the forest will find about 1.5 - 3 kg of bee nests per day. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang - a buyer of yellow beehives in Ky Son commune (Tan Ky) said: This bee season, people from communes in Tan Ky district such as Ky Son, Phu Son, Nghia Binh... go to the forest to hunt for yellow beehives quite a lot, there are also many people buying beehives. Some people who used to hunt for beehives last year have changed their job to buying beehives this year. The price of yellow beehives in the area fluctuates erratically.

On this occasion, beehive purchasing facilities in the mountainous districts of Nghe An are operating strongly. Hanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) alone has more than 10 large and small purchasing facilities. Photo: Huy Thu

After purchasing the beehives, these establishments will hire people to open the beehives to remove the pupae, to sell each product separately. People in Hanh Lam commune often use tweezers to remove the beehive lid and remove the pupae from the hive. Photo: Huy Thu

Mr. Nguyen Huu Thien (32 years old), owner of a beehive purchasing facility in Hamlet 4, Hanh Lam Commune (Thanh Chuong) said: His family has been purchasing beehives for nearly a month now. He also does not know what the beehives will be used for, only that he buys them to send to China. The separation of bee pupae requires that both the nest shell and the bee pupae be intact, not crushed. Photo: Huy Thu

According to the experience of the people in the profession, peeling off bee pupae in the afternoon and at night, if you wear a flashlight on your head, you will work better. The light clearly illuminates each cocoon, making the picking of pupae more precise and faster. Photo: Huy Thu

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang - a buyer of yellow beehives in Ky Son commune (Tan Ky) said: This bee season, people from communes in Tan Ky district such as Ky Son, Phu Son, Nghia Binh... go to the forest to hunt for yellow beehives quite a lot, there are also many people buying beehives. Some people who used to hunt for beehives last year have changed their job to buying beehives this year. The price of yellow beehives in the area fluctuates erratically. Photo: Huy Thu

Previously, beehive purchasing facilities in Hanh Lam commune (Thanh Chuong) often paid workers for peeling bee pupae by unit of time, but now they have switched to calculating by volume, for every 1 kg of bee pupae they can be paid 25,000 - 30,000 VND. A person who is quick with their hands and eyes can only peel 4-5 kg ​​of bee pupae in one session. Photo: Huy Thu

After the bee pupae are peeled off, the facilities will classify them into good and bad types, some will be boiled before being frozen. Ms. Vo Thi Thuong in Hamlet 4, Hanh Lam Commune (Thanh Chuong) said that this is the beginning of the bee season, and each day her facility buys about a few nests of honeycombs with pupae. Photo: Huy Thu

Bee pupae are usually packaged in 1kg boxes by purchasing facilities and frozen in household refrigerators. This season, at beehive purchasing facilities in Thanh Chuong, every household refrigerator is full of bee pupae. Bee pupae can be processed into many delicious and nutritious dishes, which are loved by many people. In addition to serving the needs of local people, bee pupae are sold to restaurants, pubs, and sent to other provinces. The retail price of bee pupae in the locality is 250,000 - 260,000 VND/kg. Photo: Huy Thu

A purchasing facility in Hanh Lam commune said: The shell beehives are packed in bags, and every few days, cars from Lang Son come to pick them up. There are even Chinese people who follow Lang Son traders all the way to Thanh Chuong to see the goods. The purchase of yellow beehives has created more jobs and income for many people in the mountainous areas. However, when going to the forest to hunt for beehives in the hot days, people need to pay attention to their own safety, and be careful to prevent fires and the risk of forest fires. Photo: Huy Thu

Source: https://danviet.vn/nguoi-dan-nghe-an-do-xo-vao-rung-san-to-ong-vai-ngay-lai-co-thuong-lai-trung-quoc-den-mua-tra-gia-tien-trieu-20240702153357637.htm