Crabs and freshwater prawns doubled in price on the day of the God of Wealth festival.

Today, each kilogram of freshwater prawns costs 500,000 VND, and Ca Mau crab with roe costs 600,000 VND, double the price compared to yesterday.

From early morning on the 10th day of the first lunar month (the day of the God of Wealth), major markets in Ho Chi Minh City such as Xom Moi (Go Vap), Ba Chieu (Binh Thanh), and Tan Dinh (District 1) were packed with people buying offerings to worship the God of Wealth. Despite the prices of crabs and prawns doubling compared to the previous day, many stalls still sold out within hours.

At Xom Moi market, grilled snakehead fish weighing 400 grams each costs 100,000 VND, equivalent to 250,000 VND per kilogram, a 50% increase compared to normal days. Meanwhile, giant freshwater prawns (10 prawns per kilogram) have jumped to 500,000 VND, and sea crabs with roe (350-500 grams) range from 550,000-600,000 VND per kilogram, double the price of yesterday.

A 600-gram crab was sold for 360,000 VND at Xom Moi Market, Go Vap District (Ho Chi Minh City). Photo: Thi Ha

Ms. Hoang Anh said that this morning she bought a 600-gram crab for 360,000 VND, prawns for 50,000 VND, and grilled snakehead fish for 100,000 VND. "I only bought one of each, but it cost me over half a million VND. Prices have increased too much this year," she said.

According to Ms. Huyen, a small vendor at Ba Chieu Market (Binh Thanh District), she sold 30 crabs in just one hour this morning and had to ask family members to bring more. "I was worried about the difficult economic situation and customers tightening their spending, so I imported 20% less stock than last year. I didn't expect the demand to be so high; many items sold out early," she said.

In addition, items accompanying the offering tray such as sticky rice, sweet soup, flowers, and fruits have also increased in price by 10-30% due to strong demand. Chrysanthemums and marigolds have increased two to three times in some places, red bean sweet soup has gone up by 5,000 VND per cup, and mangoes, pomelos, and custard apples are 5,000-10,000 VND more expensive per kilogram compared to normal days.

Giant freshwater prawns cost 500,000 VND per kilogram at Xom Moi Market, Go Vap District. Photo: Thi Ha

Small business owners say that prices of goods have increased. Due to a 10-30% decrease in shrimp and crab supply compared to last year, many vendors drastically reduced production during this period fearing a slowdown in demand. However, in reality, demand remains high, making the food market more vibrant than anticipated.

Reports from Binh Dien wholesale market show that in the past two days, the amount of fish arriving at the market reached 635 tons, an 82% increase compared to the same period last year. The price of live snakehead fish only increased slightly, but the price of grilled snakehead fish increased sharply due to traders accounting for losses and processing costs.

Besides food, the gold market is equally vibrant. This morning, jewelry stores in Ho Chi Minh City maintained the selling price of gold bars and plain rings around 86.5-90.3 million VND per tael, while widening the buy-sell spread to 3.5 million VND. Large stores like PNJ, DOJI , and SJC were packed with customers, requiring the issuance of queue numbers to control the volume of purchases. Plain 24K gold rings and gold jewelry in the shape of the God of Wealth were in high demand.

Similarly, Vietlott and traditional lottery tickets are also selling well. Many agents report a 40-50% increase in ticket sales, especially for lucky number sequences like 39, 79, 38, and 78 (representing the God of Wealth and the God of the Land).

Comment (0)