Buffalo ‘trading floor’ in Vietnam’s northern mountains

It is simply called the ‘buffalo market’ by locals in Can Cau Commune, where it has been located for around fifteen years.

The market gathers all year round, except for when the crops are harvested.

Hundreds of buffalos at the buffalo market in Can Cau Commune, Si Ma Cai District, Lao Cai Province.

Initially set up for locals to sell and buy buffalos, the market has attracted Chinese dealers to provide meat for their country.

The market has been considered an ‘economic spearhead’ of the district, especially when locals finish harvesting their crops.

It has helped reduce poverty in villages of the Mong ethnic minority people.

A market day

At dawn, when fog still densely covers the mountains and forests and small sloping roads, the tinkling of the bells on buffalos’ neck and the thud of footsteps are heard moving towards the market.

On provincial road 153, dozens of trucks carrying buffalos from the northern provinces of Yen Bai, Tuyen Quang, Son La, Vinh Phu, Ha Giang, and Dien Bien line up on their way to the buffalo ‘trading floor’.

Sometimes, over 1,000 buffalos are gathered at the market, located on a flat piece of land halfway up the side of a hill.

“This market convenes after crops are harvested,” said Giang A Do, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Can Cau Commune.

“Billions of dong [VND1 billion equals US$48,100] are spent each market day. You don’t need to calculate it exactly, but just have a look at the bags dealers bring with them, and you will see how it is.”

At 7:00 am, the ‘trading floor’ becomes very busy. Dealers, buffalo owners and buffalos stand alternate at every corner of the site.

Mong women wearing colorful skirts stand side by side with their husbands during bargaining.

The different languages of ethnic minority people and Chinese are heard during the market day. Tran Van Sen, a resident of Muong Khuong District, is hired as a Chinese interpreter at the market.

Sen revealed that most Chinese dealers attending the market come from Yunnan Province in the southwest of China. They come to Vietnam to buy buffalos mainly for meat to sell to their local Muslim community since they don’t eat pork.

The Chinese dealers don’t need scales to weigh buffalos, instead they go around the animal to check the length and width of their body, and clap the bottom of the animal to check its muscle.

This way, Chinese dealers can know the weight of a buffalo, with a maximum difference of just a kilogram, Sen admitted.

The average price per kilogram of a live buffalo is around VND220,000 at the market.

However, the busiest time of the market, which is considered the biggest event market in the northwestern region of Vietnam, starts from around 9:00 am and lasts till after 12:00 pm.

Many dealers wait for this time to collect the remaining buffalos, which are left without buyers thanks to diseases, thinness, or crippled legs, at low prices.

A man (sitting) checks his money to pay to the owner of a buffalo at the buffalo market in Si Ma Cai.

If Chinese dealers come to the buffalo ‘trading floor’ to buy the animals for meat, local buyers want strong ones for cultivating crops and pulling cargo.

Western tourists also like visiting the venue to witness the lifestyle of locals and take pictures of local farmers in their original dress.

A market for the reduction of poverty

Giang Seo Pua, a local in Xin Chai Commune, just five kilometers from the buffalo market, said he is one of many local dealers who attend the market to buy thin and weak buffalos, fatten them at home for weeks, and sell them back at a profit.

They earn on average VND4-5 million (US$192-240) per animal. It is good income for farmers after just two or three months.

It is now the common business of many farmers when they are free from their crops.

“In winter, I cultivate corn for buffalo food,” said Pua. “Corn helps buffalos quickly gain weight.”

Local farmers sow regular crops in spring and summer since they are the best periods for a good harvest.

A normal buffalo is often sold for VND20 million (US$962) at the market, but a thin animal with crippled legs can be bought for just VND8 million (US$385).

“Thanks to the buffalo market, I can build a house which is one of the most beautiful in my village and buy a motorbike for my family,” Pua boasted.

Those who don’t have money to buy a buffalo can also earn money at the market by ‘leading buffalos’.

Chinese dealers buy many animals at the same time and they hire locals to lead buffalos across the border for VND150,000 (US$7) for each ten kilometers.

Giang A Do admitted that his villagers began learning to keep and feed buffalos for sale in 2000, when the buffalo market was established.

Authorities of Can Cau Commune collect VND100 million (US$4,800) a year by selling tickets to enter the market, he added.