Green mangosteen costs half a million dong per kilo

This year, peeled green mangosteen prices increased from 350,000 VND to 550,000 VND per kilogram, and many people are looking to buy it to make salad.

In the past, consumers often bought only ripe mangosteens for dessert. In the past two years, green (unripe) mangosteens have been the fruit that consumers in the South have sought to buy to prepare food.

The price of this type is constantly increasing and becoming expensive.

Ms. Thao in District 6 (HCMC), who has been selling hundreds of kilograms of raw mangosteens for over a week, said the price of one kilogram of unpeeled mangosteens is 80,000 VND, and the peeled variety is 550,000 VND. This price is 30% higher than last year.

"The price is high but this type is very 'hot'. Every day I can only peel about a few dozen kilograms of raw bamboo shoots because this type is complicated and time-consuming to prepare," said Ms. Thao.

Green mangosteens are processed by stores to sell to customers in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Kim Ngan — Green mangosteens are processed by stores to sell to customers in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: *Kim Ngan*

Initially, she only sold cooked bamboo shoots, but for more than a week now, Ms. Hong in District 8 (HCMC) has also switched to selling raw bamboo shoots because customers ask for more than cooked ones.

According to her, in just one week, 200 kg of raw mangosteen at the store were all ordered by customers. Because it takes a long time to process raw mangosteen, she had to hire more staff. "5 kg of mangosteen only produces 1 kg of pulp, plus the processing cost, so I sell it for 430,000 VND. The price is high but it is always sold out, sometimes only enough for two-thirds of the customers who pre-ordered," said Ms. Hong.

As a wholesale distributor, Ms. Hanh Thu in Binh Duong , said that this year the number of wholesale orders for green mangosteen has skyrocketed. Last year, the number of peeled orders was only about 100-200 kg and more than a ton of whole-shell orders. However, this year the demand has increased 5 times. Therefore, she has to divide the orders equally so that all wholesalers have products to sell.

"Many wholesalers ordered 200 kg but I could only send about 80-100 kg because the goods were scarce while demand was high," said Ms. Hanh Thu.

Grade 1 green mangosteen, with the skin intact, can cost up to 130,000 VND per kg. The products currently sold are mostly trimmed of substandard fruits on each tree or grade 3 products. Normally, at the garden, they will trim 1-2 kg of substandard fruits from each tree to save nutrients for the standard fruits. To buy in large quantities, traders have to collect from each garden.

Mangosteen chicken salad is a culinary trend favored by consumers in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Hoang Thuy — Mangosteen chicken salad is a culinary trend favored by consumers in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: *Hoang Thuy*

According to Ms. Thu, green mangosteens are popular because there is a trend of selling and processing mangosteen chicken salad. This dish is a specialty of the Southeast region. Previously, only tourists could enjoy it when visiting places where mangosteens are grown, but now consumers in Ho Chi Minh City are looking to buy it.

In the market, besides green mangosteen, there are two types of ripe mangosteen: Thai and Vietnamese. Of which, ripe mangosteen from Thailand costs 70,000-100,000 VND per kilogram, while Vietnamese mangosteen costs 100,000-120,000 VND. Currently, Lai Thieu mangosteen is just at the beginning of the season, the output is still low so the price is higher than Thai mangosteen.

According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Duong, the price of mangosteen at the beginning of the season is good. Currently, mangosteen is grown mainly in Thuan An city and Dau Tieng district with an area of about 800 hectares.

Hong Chau

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