Chinese traders are buying up rotten wood at 3 million VND/kg, people are flocking to the forest to hunt for it, and forest rangers are issuing warnings.

Chinese traders are buying leechwood at prices ranging from 1 to 3 million VND per kilogram, causing many people in Quang Tri to flock to the forests to hunt for it.

Logs of mangrove wood are collected from the forest by locals and sold to Chinese traders - Photo: TG

On December 11-12, Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Head of the Quang Tri Forest Protection Department, said that he had directed the strengthening of patrol forces and issued warnings to prevent people from entering the forest to exploit the Man Dia tree after Chinese traders sought to buy this type of wood at "skyrocketing" prices.

According to Mr. Long, this type of wood is bought in large quantities by Chinese traders in Laos and is now beginning to be transported to Quang Tri.

"The product itself is essentially decayed wood. Therefore, buying and selling it will not be considered a violation of the law. However, people flocking to the forest could disrupt public order and security. Furthermore, it could lead to people cutting down living trees to wait for them to rot before harvesting them, which would be a violation. That's why we have to warn the people," Mr. Long said.

The decaying remains that Chinese traders often buy from the leech-eating mangrove tree - Photo: TG

Previously, for several days, many traders in Quang Tri province had been "hunting" for Man Dia wood. Their reason was that Chinese traders were buying this type of wood by the kilogram, with each kilogram priced at 1-3 million VND depending on quality.

The fact that traders are driving up the price of this type of wood has led many people to start flocking to the forest to search for it. Many see this as a chance to "change their lives".

According to the Quang Tri Provincial Forest Protection Department, the Man Dia wood, which grows abundantly in the mountainous forests of Quang Tri, has long been classified as low-quality wood, only used for making cheap household items.

"From what we understand, Chinese traders only buy the remaining pieces of wood from decaying mangrove logs. These pieces of wood then have quite beautiful grain patterns and attractive shapes," Mr. Long said.

QUOC NAM

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thuong-lai-trung-quoc-gom-go-muc-gia-3-trieu-kg-nguoi-dan-do-vao-rung-san-tim-kiem-lam-canh-bao-20251211204257975.htm