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Cassia in Vietnam is mostly Saigon cassia, also known as Vietnamese cinnamon or Vietnamese cassia. It is an evergreen tree indigenous to mainland Southeast Asia.
Kinds of cassia in Vietnam
There are two main kinds of cassia in Vietnam: large-leaf cassia and small-leaf cassia. Large-leaf cassia is the most popular one with thin skin and low oil content.
All the parts of the cassia tree such as skin, leaves, flowers, roots contain essential oil. Especially, cassia skin has the highest level of oil content, reaching t% – 5%. Vietnamese cassia oil is yellow and the main ingredient is aldehyde cinnamic with 70% – 90%.
Saigon cinnamon is more closely related to cassia cinnamon than Ceylon cinnamon, though in the same genus. Saigon cinnamon has 1-5% essential oil in content and 25% cinnamaldehyde in essential oil, which is the highest of all the cinnamon species. Consequently, among the species, Saigon cinnamon commands a relatively high price.
Cultivation of cassia in Vietnam
In Vietnam, cassia naturally grows in tropical moist forests, from the North to the South. However, natural cassia is no longer available. Instead, cassia trees have been cultivated by local growers.
For a long time, Vietnam has formed four cinnamon cultivation areas with different characteristics. It is possible to preliminarily introduce 4 regions of cassia in Vietnam.
Cassia in Yen Bai province
Yen Bai province dominates the largest amount of cassia in Vietnam and accounts for 80% of Vietnamese cassia or export. Van Yen, Van Chan, Van Ban and Tran Yen are districts that concentrate most of the population. The four districts account for about 70% of Vietnamese cassia quantity in Yen Bai province.
Cassia in Quang Nam and other provinces
Tra Mi and Tra Bong are two districts with the largest cassia area in Quang Nam province. These lands have good conditions of climate and soil for cassia development. Actually, Quang Nam province provides almost all Vietnamese cassia for export in the South.
In addition, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An are three provinces that also produce cassia in Vietnam. However, the quantity of these provinces is not so much compared to Yen Bai and Quang Nam provinces.
The uses of cassia in Vietnam
Saigon Cassia is used primarily for its aromatic bark. Saigon cinnamon bark is an important ingredient in the broth used to make a famous noodle soup called “phở” in Vietnamese cuisine.
The main products of cassia are cassia skin and essential oil. These cassia products are mostly used in many industries, such as healthcare, food, flavour and animal feed. There is an increasing trend of using essential oil instead of chemicals.
In addition to economic benefits, cassia also contributes to the protection of the ecological environment. Moreover, cassia increases forest cover, keeps the soil, and retains water in mountainous hills.
Recently, many localities also use cinnamon bark and skin to make handicraft products such as tray and kettle. Cassia powder is useful to test animal feed to increase the quality of meat of cattle and poultry.
Generally, cassia is used for both domestic consumption and export. In fact, the Vietnam War used to disrupt production, but since the beginning of the early 21st century, Vietnam has resumed export of the spice, including to the United States, where it was unavailable for nearly 20 years.
