Ho Chi Minh City: Sharp decrease in supply, green vegetable market prices pushed up

When vegetable prices "exceed" meat prices

Recently, prolonged heavy rains have caused vegetable market prices in Ho Chi Minh City to constantly "dance". Vegetable prices have increased day by day, with some items even nearly doubling from last month, while the number of shoppers has clearly decreased.

At traditional markets, many vegetable stalls open early in the morning but sales are slow, and the price list is constantly adjusted according to new import prices from traders. Many buyers are surprised that overnight, a bunch of vegetables costs a few thousand dong more.

Ms. Le Thao Vy (Thanh My Tay Ward) lamented when witnessing the continuous skyrocketing price of green vegetables: "Buying 5,000 VND worth of green onions now only gets you a few light stalks, because the price has reached 80,000 VND/kg. Many types of vegetables are more expensive than fish and meat."

*Vegetable prices have increased sharply, making every meal more "expensive". Photo: Minh Anh*

Not only have the prices of ingredients increased, many popular breakfast dishes have also been forced to adjust. Ms. Vy said that the familiar bowl of vermicelli soup near her house has increased from 30,000 VND to 35,000 VND because the herbs and spices are expensive.

At Pham Van Hai market (Tan Son Hoa ward), Van Thanh market (Thanh My Tay ward) or Ba Chieu market (Gia Dinh ward), the prices of many types of vegetables increased by one and a half to two times. Lettuce rolls fluctuated at 80,000 VND/kg, green onions increased to 80,000 VND/kg, tomatoes increased from 25,000 VND to 40,000 VND/kg. Mustard greens, cucumbers, bitter melon... all suffered from sharp price increases.

*Prices of common vegetables have increased across the board. Photo: Minh Anh*

At Ba Chieu market (Gia Dinh ward), Ms. Ngo Thi Thu, who has been selling vegetables for more than 10 years, said that the spice vegetable group is the most volatile commodity.

"The price of green onions is now sometimes close to 100,000 VND/kg, while before, customers complained that it was only 30,000 VND. Customers complained, and we did not dare to import much because the vegetables spoil easily in the rain. For every 5 bunches we buy, we lose 1-2 bunches due to damage," said Ms. Thu.

At the same market, Ms. Nguyen Ho Kim Dung said that soft vegetables such as dill, green onions or cilantro,... are very susceptible to waterlogging. With a lot of rain, there is less supply so traders have to import them to sell at high prices.

Sharp drop in supply pushes up market prices

At Van Thanh market, traders confirmed that the prices of Chinese cabbage, Chinese bok choy, and Chinese mustard greens have all increased to about 40,000 VND/kg, twice as high as normal. Malabar spinach, lettuce, and bitter melon have also increased in price. 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.

Representatives of wholesale markets such as Thu Duc, Hoc Mon and Binh Dien confirmed that the amount of vegetables coming to the market has decreased by 20-30%, especially leafy vegetables. The prices of many items have increased by 30-50%, some items have increased by up to three times.

*Supply deficit causes input costs to rise. Photo: Minh Anh*

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 the prices of green vegetables and fruits in Ho Chi Minh City.

Speaking to the Industry and Trade Newspaper, Mr. Dang Phuc Nguyen - General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association said: " The prolonged rain and storms have severely affected the crop, along with high tides leading to widespread flooding in many key areas in the Mekong Delta, causing a serious decrease in vegetable production. Even Da Lat, a major vegetable growing area, is no exception when it rains heavily, causing a continued shortage of supply."

According to Mr. Nguyen, in addition to the main cause of natural disasters, vegetable prices are also affected by secondary causes related to input costs. Specifically, the prices of agricultural materials such as fertilizers and seedlings have increased. At the same time, the prices of pesticides have also increased. The combination of reduced output and increased input costs has made production costs higher, leading to vegetable prices being more expensive on the market than before.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh-nguon-cung-giam-manh-thi-truong-rau-xanh-bi-day-gia-431047.html