Pham Van Tho, 44, joined a group of 14 people to drive 150 kilometres from the central province of Quang Ngai to Kon Tum to work during the coffee harvesting season this year.
Tho brought his 11-year-old son with him and they carried various equipment and clothing to prepare for a long stay during their work.
"My wife will come here later with our small child on a bus," Tho said. "We'll stay with 14 neighbours from Quang Ngai at the house of the owner of the coffee plantation where we'll work this season.
The man said that they are farmers and have modest income from their small farmland in Quang Ngai. Therefore, they often seek extra work to earn more money.
"We've come to the Central Highlands every coffee harvest season to work as the plantation owners need more labour during this time," he said. "Thanks to this work, we can earn some money for the Tet Lunar New Year Holiday.
According to the farmers, as coffee prices are high this year, they are being paid well between VND90,000-VND100,000 for picking 100 kilos of coffee fruits.
"We usually start work from 6 am until dark, trying to pick as many of the fruits as possible to earn more money," he said.
Another man from Quang Ngai, Dinh Van Dat, 38, said that he and his wife were harvesting coffee on a 4-hectare plantation in Dak Ha Town.
"We're working from 6 am until 6 pm every day, picking between 700-800 kilos of coffee fruits every day," Dat said. "And we earn over VND800,000 a day, and can save some VND40 million during this coffee harvesting season which lasts some two months."
According to the Kon Tum Provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, due to the lack of workers, coffee plantations in the province usually need some 4,000 workers during the harvest season.
The central highlands region has over 600,000 hectares of coffee in 2022, accounting for 89.90 percent of the country's total coffee area. The region produced 1.77 million tonnes of coffee, second after Brazil, with export value reaching USD4 billion last year.
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