Quang Ngai is the locality with the second largest cinnamon growing area in Vietnam, most concentrated in Tra Bong district. The whole Tra Bong district currently has about 5,500 hectares of cinnamon growing area. Along with maintaining the current cinnamon growing area, Tra Bong district is implementing a plan to expand the cinnamon area, striving to increase the cinnamon tree area to 6,000 hectares by 2030.
It is the time of cinnamon harvest, so everyone growing cinnamon in Tra Bong district is busy. Some went to the fields to peel cinnamon, others took advantage of the sun to dry cinnamon to sell to traders. Currently, fresh cinnamon peels cost from 15,000 - 16,000 VND/kg, dried cinnamon 40,000 - 45,000 VND/kg.
Mr. Ho Van Sang in Huong Tra commune, Tra Bong district shared that his family has more than 5,000 cinnamon trees, of which about 600 are old enough to be harvested. With the current cinnamon price, this crop is estimated to earn him tens of millions of VND.
According to Mr. Sang, the current price of cinnamon is still low, so the profit from cinnamon trees is not as expected. In previous years, the price of fresh cinnamon at times reached 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg, and everyone growing cinnamon was excited, said Mr. Sang.
Although the price of cinnamon this year is lower than expected, people are still happy because the revenue from cinnamon is stable. "Since the beginning of the season, I have harvested cinnamon shells and sold them to traders for nearly 10 million VND. Thanks to the money from selling cinnamon, I can make ends meet. Currently, my family still has more than 600 cinnamon trees that are old for harvest. Hopefully, in the near future, cinnamon prices will increase so that we can earn high profits," said Ms. Ho Thi Truc in Tra Hiep commune.
In the capital of cinnamon in Tra Bong, there are two cinnamon harvests each year. The first period starts from the end of February to the end of April, the Cor people call it the "fairy season", and the second period from July to August. "During this period, cinnamon peels are easy to peel and have a lot of essential oils, so the cinnamon harvesting work needs to be urgent, because during the crop, cinnamon peels will stick tightly to the stems and will be very difficult to peel," said Ms. Truc.
Along with other crops, cinnamon is one of the main crops in Tra Bong district. Almost every Cor ethnic household grows cinnamon. Few households have planted more than 1,000 trees, many have a few hectares of cinnamon. Tra Bong cinnamon, from traditional crops, has become an important resource in sustainable economic development and poverty reduction for farmers. Thanks to growing cinnamon, many households here have escaped poverty and become rich.
Mr. Tran Van Suong - Vice Chairman of Tra Bong District People's Committee said that not only is it a traditional crop of the Cor people, Tra Bong cinnamon has been recognized as a national specialty and honored by the Asian Record Organization as an Asian gift specialty. As one of the four key cinnamon regions of the country, with an annual harvest of 1,800 to 2,000 tons, Tra Bong cinnamon not only meets domestic consumption needs but also reaches the international market.
Tra Bong cinnamon products are highly appreciated by the market, because of their special scent and high content of essential oils, they are favored by domestic markets and many countries in the world such as China, France, India, Korea... . Currently, cinnamon essential oil and cosmetic products are produced from cinnamon peels such as bottles, cups, tea containers; tofu, velvet are consumed quite strongly.
