Vegetable and fruit prices skyrocket like during... COVID-19

Many leafy vegetables have doubled or even tripled in price after storms and floods, leaving both retailers and buyers exhausted. According to many growers, too much rain and flooding has led to a sharp drop in output, causing prices of vegetables to skyrocket.

Many consumers say they now have to "cut their coat according to their cloth" because prices are too expensive - Photo: NHAT XUAN

Many traders said it may take 1.5 - 2 months for vegetable prices to return to normal. Meanwhile, many farmers in the Lam Dong vegetable growing area said that despite high prices, they cannot be happy because productivity has dropped too sharply, there is demand but no vegetables to sell.

Prices of water spinach, green onions... are skyrocketing.

On November 18, Tuoi Tre's observations at traditional markets in Ho Chi Minh City such as Ba Chieu market and Tan Dinh market showed that the prices of most vegetables and tubers continued to increase by 1,000 - 2,000 VND compared to the previous day and had doubled, even tripled compared to two weeks before the consecutive storms hit.

Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Thuy, a vegetable vendor at Ba Chieu market, said that the price of spices is the item that has increased the most. Green onions sometimes cost up to 90,000 VND/kg, previously they were only about 30,000 VND. Water spinach is up to 70,000 - 90,000 VND/kg, an unprecedented high.

"The price is too high, every customer complains, I don't dare to import too much because a lot of vegetables go bad, I buy 5 bunches and 2 go bad, I have to worry about selling them," Ms. Thuy said, adding that these days, every morning when she opens her stall, she "can't sit still" because the import price is high and the goods are easily spoiled.

Meanwhile, Ms. Y Nhi, a vegetable vendor at Ba Chieu market, also confirmed that the spice group is the type of vegetable that has "increased the most". "The rain has been prolonged, so green onions and dill are easily spoiled, and the supply is limited, so the price has to increase," she said. Previously, customers who bought a lot were given a "gift" of herbs and a little onion and cilantro, but now, according to her, "the price has increased too much, so I'm hesitant to give them more."

At Tan Dinh market, traders said that many types of vegetables are at high prices, increasing rapidly. For example, bok choy, Chinese cabbage, and Chinese mustard greens have increased from 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg to about 40,000 VND/kg. Malabar spinach is at 25,000 VND/kg; lettuce from 15,000 - 20,000 VND/kg to more than 40,000 VND/kg; bitter melon from 10,000 - 15,000 VND/kg to 40,000 - 45,000 VND/kg.

The cause is said to be due to floods in the North and Central regions damaging vegetable growing areas, while the West has entered the flood season, vegetable gardens are constantly flooded. The sharp decrease in supply has pushed up prices in Ho Chi Minh City.

"Everyone is afraid of high prices. We, the sellers, don't make much profit. Stable prices make it easier to sell, but if prices go up like this... both sides suffer," said a vendor.

While talking to regular customers, many vendors shared that they had to constantly explain prices every day, and were afraid to sell because they were afraid that customers would misunderstand that they were "arbitrarily increasing prices".

Representatives of wholesale markets in Ho Chi Minh City such as Binh Dien, Hoc Mon and Thu Duc said that the amount of vegetables imported to the market has decreased sharply compared to before, especially leafy vegetables. The selling price of many items such as tomatoes and leafy vegetables has also increased by 30-50% compared to normal, even doubling or tripling some items due to lack of supply.

Vegetable farmers also "cry"

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Mr. Nguyen Hong Phong, Director of Phong Thuy Agricultural Products Company (Lam Dong), said that prolonged heavy rains caused many vegetable gardens to be flooded and damaged, while planting new crops was difficult due to flooding.

According to Mr. Phong, with an area of ​​self-production and cooperation of more than 140 hectares, but due to the sharp decrease in the amount of vegetables produced by farmers, the unit has suffered a severe and prolonged shortage of supply. To limit the impact, Phong Thuy has brought in more goods from the cold storage but "it is still not enough".

"When it was stable, the unit bought about 30 tons/day, but now it is only 20 tons. There is not enough supply of many items, so we are forced to drastically cut down on sales to partners, especially the big markets of Ho Chi Minh City and the Southeast. Compared to the same period in previous years, the price of vegetables has increased 1.5 - 2 times," said Mr. Phong.

According to Mr. Phong, due to the high purchase price, the selling price to many partners such as supermarkets and export units is often stable according to the requirements in the contract, leading to many times when the unit's profits decrease sharply, even suffer losses.

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh, a vegetable farmer in Da Lat City (Lam Dong), said that the Central and Northern regions have suffered from continuous storms and floods in recent times, causing local supply to decrease sharply, forcing Lam Dong to increase support, leading to a further decrease in the overall vegetable supply.

According to Mr. Thanh, the price of vegetables traded by traders right in the Lam Dong growing area is quite high compared to normal, such as tomatoes at 35,000 - 40,000 VND/kg, cabbage at 25,000 VND/kg, spinach at 35,000 VND/kg, green onions at 50,000 VND/kg, other types of vegetables are also at 20,000 VND/kg or more...

Even though the price is high, many farmers are not happy because normally leafy vegetables yield 4 - 4.5 tons/ha/crop, but now due to flooding, the yield is only 2 tons.

"Producing vegetables in greenhouses will help stabilize productivity because it is not affected much by the weather. However, the area of ​​vegetable production in greenhouses in Lam Dong probably only accounts for 20%, the rest is still produced outdoors and in net houses, so the production area affected by flooding is very large," said Mr. Thanh.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Mr. Bui Trung Kien, Director of Xuan Thai Thinh Company (Lam Dong), said that vegetable productivity could decrease by up to 80% compared to stable times, and temperatures have dropped very low due to flooding, making high-tech production difficult.

Raising more means losing more, people worry about not having pigs to sell for Tet

According to many farms in the South, although the price of live pigs has slightly improved, it is still in the range of only 46,000 - 49,000 VND/kg, and sows are 30,000 - 34,000 VND/kg. This price is down 5,000 VND/kg compared to October and down 20,000 - 25,000 VND/kg compared to the good level in mid-2025.

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Mr. Nguyen Kim Doan, Vice President of Dong Nai Livestock Association, said that with the common production cost of 55,000 - 65,000 VND/kg depending on the farmer, the more farmers raise, the heavier the loss at this time. Enterprises with lower production costs are also at a loss because the price of live pigs has been low for a long time.

"Consumption demand is slow, while imported pigs are still plentiful, and many people in the Central region are selling off their pigs to escape recent floods, causing the supply of pigs in the South to increase, keeping prices low for a long time," Mr. Doan explained. According to Mr. Doan, with the prolonged impact of the epidemic and recent storms and floods, many people will not have pigs to sell in the near future, leading to possible price increases.

However, the supply of pork for the Tet market is not expected to be too lacking, even stable due to businesses flexibly increasing meat imports. Many businesses predict that the price of live pigs at the end of the year may increase again, but the increase will not be too much, likely within the range of over 60,000 VND/kg.

Worried that there may be a shortage of vegetables during Tet

According to Mr. Bui Trung Kien, what is necessary now is to increase greenhouse production, proactively source seeds and prepare the land in advance, so that when the weather is favorable, seeds can be planted immediately, helping to shorten the time and quickly increase output.

However, with short-term vegetables, it takes a month from sowing to harvesting. Therefore, the possibility of vegetable production is still low in the short term, so prices in December, even January 2026, are still high.

"If the production plan is unstable and the unfavorable weather lasts for a long time, the supply of vegetables for Tet may be in short supply and prices may be high," said Mr. Kien.

Meals narrowed down to individual dishes

The price of vegetables such as: Chinese cabbage, Chinese bok choy, Chinese mustard greens... has increased more than twice compared to before, up to 35,000 - 40,000 VND/kg - Photo: NHAT XUAN

The skyrocketing vegetable prices in the days after the storm are clearly affecting the meals of many families. In Nhieu Loc Ward (HCMC), Ms. Vu Huong said she had never seen water spinach so expensive.

"Before, 10,000 VND was enough to eat, but now it's not enough. I have to calculate each meal to see what is reasonable to eat, then ask my family in the countryside to send me some pumpkins to save money, change dishes and still save money," said Ms. Huong.

Last weekend, Ms. Le Thi Chi said she went to buy vegetables to make vegetarian hotpot to treat her friends, but when she opened the bag of vegetables, she was "shocked": "It was so little!". When she went back to ask the seller, Ms. Chi was told that the price of vegetables had increased so much that the portion had to be reduced.

At many vegetable stalls, customers fill their baskets and then hesitate to leave some. Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, a vendor at Ba Chieu market, said: "Before, people bought a lot of each item, now they only dare to take a few thousand to have enough for a meal. Honestly, I don't want to sell the 5,000 VND combo of green onions because it's too much of a loss."

Many shops in Ho Chi Minh City also said they are having a "headache" with vegetable prices because the purchase price has increased too much, and many types cannot be bought. This leads to the need to balance the selling price and the quantity sold to ensure profit.

NGUYEN TRI - NHAT XUAN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/gia-rau-cu-qua-vot-len-nhu-thoi-covid-19-20251118233242571.htm