Market selling "heavenly gifts
After the rains, melaleuca mushrooms begin to appear under the forest canopy, which is also when people in mountainous areas of Hue City take advantage of going into the forest to find and pick them. This type of mushroom has a rather short season, and the yield depends a lot on the weather, so every time the season comes, buying and selling becomes bustling.
In the area next to the Dan Nam Giao relic, Thuan Hoa ward, pots of melaleuca mushrooms are brought by people to gather, sort and then sell to customers. From early morning, people have come to the selling points to choose mushrooms. On peak days, trading activities last until evening, especially in the afternoon.
Melaleuca mushrooms are recognized with a brown-purple outer shell, white flesh and characteristic bitter taste. This type of mushroom usually grows under the canopy of the melaleuca forest after rains. For mountainous people, the mushroom season not only brings food but also creates additional income in a short time.
Mr. Le Duc Dung, 40 years old, has had nearly 8 years of trading melaleuca mushrooms in this area. He said that he often goes to A Luoi and Binh Dien to collect mushrooms from people and then bring them to retail and wholesale.
This season is the melaleuca mushroom season for Hue people, thanks to the mushroom crop, many households in A Luoi and Binh Dien regions have incomes from 1 to 2 million VND per day. Trading like me depends on quantity, many goods are profitable, few goods are profitable", Mr. Dung said.
According to Mr. Dung, at peak times, he imports and sells about 7-8 quintals of mushrooms every day, with income ranging from 3-5 million VND. Mushrooms are divided into many types, of which selected and beautiful goods, pre-orders can reach 100,000 VND/kg; popular types are priced at 40,000-60,000 VND/kg.
This year, the yield of mushrooms is low, causing prices to increase compared to previous seasons. If in bumper years, the common price was about 20,000-35,000 VND/kg, now it fluctuates around 50,000-60,000 VND/kg.
To make trading convenient and maintain order, local authorities arrange mushroom sellers to gather in an area next to Dan Nam Giao. Households are arranged with large umbrellas to shelter from sun and rain, creating a stable trading space instead of selling scattered.
Going dozens of kilometers just to buy mushrooms
For many people, this type of mushroom is a specialty dish with a large quantity but is extremely rare when the season ends. Therefore, they are willing to go far to buy it for storage and use.
Ms. Tran Thi Kieng, residing in Phu Vinh commune, Hue city, said that the locality does not have melaleuca mushrooms, so the two mothers and daughters drove more than 30km to the city center to buy them.
This time, she bought 6kg of pre-processed mushrooms for 55,000 VND/kg, then boiled and frozen for gradual use. "I don't have these mushrooms, but everyone in the house likes to eat them because they are delicious and guaranteed. So I came here to buy them to store and eat gradually," Ms. Kieng said.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, a trader residing in Binh Dien commune, said that the mushrooms she sells are purchased directly from people who go to the fields and forests to pick. Every day, Ms. Hanh sells about 1.5-3 quintals of mushrooms, depending on purchasing power. The current retail price is from 40,000-60,000 VND/kg. The number of customers also changes with the weather. Sunny days, buyers are crowded. On rainy and windy days, purchasing power decreases significantly.
Tram mushrooms can be processed into many dishes such as cooked with sweet potato leaves, pumpkin stems, shrimp, fish or stir-fried with meat. Despite their characteristic bitter taste, this type of mushroom is still favored by many Hue people.
