Early season heat in Nghe An, cooling fruits 'in high demand'

Mulberries are sold in a corner of the market in Vinh city. Photo: TP

In the morning at Quan Lau market (Truong Thi ward, Vinh city), the atmosphere of buying and selling is very busy. Especially at the fruit stalls with bright red plums, dark purple mulberries, lush green coconuts, bright yellow pineapples... Buyers are bustling, sellers are quickly weighing, bagging, and bustlingly offering their goods. Summer has just begun, but the cooling fruit market has truly entered the "hot season".

At the fruit stall of Ms. Dau Thi Hien – a vendor who has been selling at Quan Lau market for over 10 years – baskets of fresh mulberries have been filled since early morning. Each mulberry is plump, red-purple, and still has a green stem attached. Ms. Hien spoke quickly while weighing the goods for customers: “These mulberries are grown in Nghi Duc, Nghi An.

Mulberries grown in Nghi Duc, Nghi An (Vinh City) are picked early and brought to the market so they are still fresh. Photo: Vinh City

People pick the fruit early in the morning and bring it to the market immediately, so the fruit is always fresh. People now really like mulberries. They buy them to eat raw, make syrup, or soak them in sugar to drink to cool down. Every day I sell 50-70kg, priced at 35,000-40,000 VND/kg, an increase of 10,000 VND compared to the beginning of the season, but still not enough goods."

According to Ms. Hien, mulberry has a short harvest season, lasting only 1.5 to 2 months, and is cool and has a pleasant sweet and sour taste, so it is always among the most sought-after fruits in early summer. Although the price has increased, strong consumption has caused many retailers to prioritize importing this fruit instead of imported fruits as before.

Every day, Ms. Hien at Quan Lau market sells about 50-70kg of mulberries. Photo: TP

In addition to strawberries, fruits that can be soaked in syrup such as apricots and plums are also in season. At Vinh market, apricots cost from 30,000 to 35,000 VND/kg, and plums cost 120,000 to 140,000 VND/kg - prices that are not "reasonable" but still attract many customers. Mr. Le Van Khoa - owner of a fruit shop on Nguyen Trung Ngan street, shared: "Early season plums are quite expensive, up to 140,000 VND/kg, but many people still choose to buy them. On peak days, I sell 30 - 40kg of plums."

At this time, pineapple, a typical summer fruit, is also consumed strongly. Pineapple is not only eaten raw, but also juiced, cooked in sour soup, stewed with sugar... The price of pineapple at traditional markets currently ranges from 10,000 - 12,000 VND/kg, or about 8,000 - 10,000 VND/fruit. This price has not decreased compared to the end of the year, although it is currently the main harvest season.

The reason is that the market demand is high, so the price is high. “Every day I import about 1,000 Quynh Luu pineapples to Vinh. The goods sell very well. The juice shop takes them home and squeezes them with ice or sells them in syrup, which is very popular. When the weather is sunny, the cooling fruit immediately becomes popular,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, the owner of a pineapple dealer at Vinh wholesale market.

One of the items that is “selling like hotcakes” these days is fresh coconut. The retail price of Siamese coconut is from 17,000 to 18,000 VND/fruit, an increase of 3,000 to 5,000 VND/fruit, green coconut is 25,000 to 30,000 VND/fruit, an increase of 5,000 VND/fruit. Coconut stalls on Nguyen Canh Chan, Truong Chinh, Quang Trung streets (Vinh City) are always crowded with customers.

At the beginning of the hot season, coconut prices increased sharply. Photo: TP

“Coconuts can be drunk immediately, without mixing or adding sugar, and are good for the liver and diuretic. They can be used by both children and the elderly, so they are in high demand. I import several hundred coconuts every day, selling retail and wholesale to shops, but not enough to sell online,” said a vendor on Quang Trung Street.

At the beginning of the season, watermelons are expensive but still quite popular. Because the watermelon growing areas in Nghe An such as Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Nam Dan, Nghia Dan... have not entered the harvest season yet, traders have to import goods from the South, so the price of watermelons is high, ranging from 25,000 - 30,000 VND/kg. A 3-4kg watermelon costs nearly 100,000 VND, but many people are still willing to pay to have this juicy, easy-to-eat fruit on their daily cooling menu.

scam expert — In particular, the price of oranges is falling sharply, only half the price compared to last year. Photo: TP

In contrast to the heat of other fruits, the price of pomelos is quite low, only 8,000 - 10,000 VND/kg, nearly half of last year's price, so many people choose them. Ms. Nguyen Tuyet Mai, a customer, said: "PQ pomelos and tangerines are cheap, suitable for juicing to cool down. On average, every week I buy 10kg of pomelos to squeeze juice, make drinks for the whole family, supplement vitamin C, increase resistance at the beginning of the hot season".

According to traders, the hot season lasts longer due to the leap year, which increases the demand for cooling and heat-clearing foods through diet. Cooling fruits are not only consumer goods, but are also used as gifts, bottled, and sold online. Many households and small businesses in strawberry, sugarcane, and pineapple growing areas are taking advantage of the summer to increase their income from manual processing such as making syrups, jams, and bottled juices.

bna_dua(1).jpg — Pineapple prices increase, pineapple farmers are excited. Photo: TP

“The cooling fruit market this year is expected to increase sharply in May and June when summer really begins. This is a positive signal for fruit farmers, and at the same time an opportunity for many start-up models of on-site processing from fruit juice,” said an official from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Vinh City.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nang-nong-dau-mua-o-nghe-an-trai-cay-giai-nhiet-dat-hang-10295603.html