The Tet holiday (the Lunar New Year ) will approach within two more weeks, people in traditional craft villages in the Southeast region are rushed off their feet making food and foodstuff for the special holiday.
A worker in a craft village in the Southeast region makes Chung cake for the Tet holiday
The atmosphere in these villages is bustling. More employees were hired to work relentlessly to promptly supply traditional food for customers inside and outside the province.
These days, Chung cake (traditional square sticky rice cake) village in Ho Nai Ward in the Southern Province of Dong Nai’s Bien Hoa City had to hire dozens of seasonal workers because more people have ordered the traditional cake for the upcoming Tet holiday.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai, an owner of a long-time Chung cake-making facility in Ho Nai ward, revealed that only she and her husband make the cake on weekdays but during the Tet season, they have to hire about 10 additional seasonal workers who work day and night to make enough cakes to deliver to customers. Not only regular customers but many banquet establishments also order cakes from her facility for year-end parties, and businesses order cakes as gifts for workers.
Elsewhere in the country, artisans living along the National Highway 22 in Trang Bang town in Tay Ninh Province which is famous for making dew-wetted rice paper are racing against the clock to keep up with the rising demand for dew-soaked rice paper. The rice paper is a famous traditional food of Trang Bang town in the Southern Province of Tay Ninh recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage.
A representative of Minh Nhut production facility said that during Tet, the facility’s output was increased by more than 10 percent compared to normal days and they had to recruit two more workers.
According to the owner of Ngoc Han rice paper facility, sales volume still remains good, during the Tet holiday, the selling price is a little bit higher at VND38,000-VND40,000 per kg, an increase of VND5,000-VND7,000 compared to the beginning of 2023, especially with products exported to Thailand, Australia, and Japan.
Meanwhile, every time Tet approaches, fishermen in Phuoc Hai fishing village in Dat Do District - one of the long-standing traditional professions associated with the history of Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province - are run off their feet preparing batches of dried fish ready to serve customers from all corners of the country. Ms. Tran Thi Tuoi, an owner of a dried fish processing facility in the fishing village, said that every year when the fish festival comes, the atmosphere in the village is festive and jolly.
Employed workers and laborers bustle back and forth, milling around the fish warehouses to keep up with rising customer demand. However, the country's economy still faces difficulties this year, so fewer customers ordered goods as last year; as a result, goods were consumed slowly even though the price is only the same or slightly increased.
Currently, about 50 households in Phuoc Hai town still process dried fish including croaker, ray, snapper, frostfish, and grouper. Mr. Nguyen Van Tan, owner of a dried seafood warehouse in Vung Tau City is also quite worried about the pile of shrimp and dried fish up to nearly three tons in the warehouse.
According to him, in previous years, no matter how much goods were made, they were sold out and were not even enough to supply the market. However, this year, the facility can only sell a few dozen kilograms to around 1 quintal every day because consumer spending has dropped.
By staff writers - Translated by Anh Quan
