Vegetable prices skyrocket, both people and shops are 'crying'

TPO – Vegetable prices at markets in Da Nang have skyrocketed these days, most of them doubled or tripled, and many types are hard to find.

At Cam Le market (Cam Le district), traders said that all kinds of vegetables have doubled in price compared to normal days. Water spinach, sweet potato leaves, mustard greens, and amaranth are 20,000 VND/bunch. Basil and cinnamon are priced from 100,000 VND/kg or more, up two or three times. "It's expensive, but it's lucky to have it. There are many days when we can't sell anything, especially herbs," said a trader.

Da Nang: Vegetable prices skyrocket, both residents and shops are 'crying' photo 1

Vegetable prices in markets in Da Nang have all increased.

Hoa Cam market is also "hot" with green vegetables. To avoid overwhelming buyers with vegetable prices, many sellers have slightly increased the price by a few thousand dong but reduced the number of vegetables in each bundle by half. Loose bundles of vegetables such as mustard greens, sweet potato leaves, and chrysanthemum greens cost from 13,000 to 18,000 dong. You have to go to the market early to get them. Herbs and Vietnamese coriander are also not as readily available as before because they are too expensive.

“A bunch of vegetables this small would require several bunches for my family to have enough for one meal. Every year, the price of vegetables starts to increase near Tet, but this year the price has increased too early and too high. With the current situation, it will definitely increase even more during Tet,” said Ms. Thanh Thuy (32 years old, Cam Le district).

Going to Dong Da market to buy vegetables, Ms. Vinh Phuong (Hai Chau district) was surprised when she could not use small change to buy any vegetables in the market. “With a few thousand in small change, I stopped by a vegetable stall to buy some herbs, but they shook their heads and refused to sell them because the herbs were priced from 100,000 VND/kg or more. I had to buy 20,000 VND, which was enough for a small handful, less than half the usual price,” she said.

Da Nang: Vegetable prices skyrocket, both residents and shops are 'crying' photo 2

High vegetable prices cause difficulties for both sellers and buyers.

Meanwhile, at Hoa Cuong wholesale market, which specializes in wholesale agricultural products to other markets in Da Nang, traders also sighed because not only did prices increase but the quantity of imported vegetables also gradually became scarce.

Mr. Hoang Vuong, the owner of a vegetable stall, shared that he often imports goods from Dak Lak , Lam Dong and some provinces in the Central region. Recently, it has been cold and rainy, so these places cannot grow vegetables, or when it is close to harvest, the vegetables are damaged, rotten, and have pests.

“The quantity of imported vegetables has decreased by 60%, and the price has increased. Now only the South can grow vegetables, but we dare not import because the transportation costs are too high,” Mr. Vuong shook his head.

Restaurants abandon delicious dishes, farmers worry about losing Tet

The high price of vegetables has made the shops cry out. The shops that sell dishes with raw vegetables and coriander such as vermicelli with fish cakes, Quang noodles, beef noodles, banh xeo, rice paper rolls, etc. cannot afford to buy vegetables. “For a week now, I have not dared to sell Quang noodles anymore and have had to switch to sticky rice and beef stew to avoid spending money on raw vegetables. The cost of vegetables is several times higher than usual, so I have no profit left,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich (Cam Le district) calculated.

Da Nang: Vegetable prices skyrocket, both residents and shops are 'crying' photo 3

Cold and rainy weather makes farming unfavorable.

Some other restaurants replace expensive vegetables with corn, bean sprouts, or skip the side dishes to save money. "Customers know that this is because the vegetables are expensive, they understand, but if the food doesn't taste right, they won't come back. As a result, the restaurant is deserted," said Van Tuan, the owner of a restaurant in Lien Chieu district.

The cold and rainy weather in the Central region has been unfavorable for vegetable farmers for many days. Mr. Mai Van Toan (Cam Le district) has 10 sao of land in the safe vegetable area of La Huong, but each day he can only harvest about 30 bunches of mustard greens and sweet potato leaves to sell. According to him, because of the cold and rain, vegetables grow very slowly and are easily crushed.

Although the price is double the usual, customers come to the garden to order but there is nothing to sell. “I have planted some mustard greens and spinach, but it has rained too much, I am afraid that the soil will make it difficult for the seeds to germinate and easily spoil. The rows of cucumbers that were planted to sell for Tet have all been ruined, so I have to destroy them and start over. If the weather continues like this, farmers will not know what to sell for Tet,” Mr. Toan worried.