Fruits waiting for "Tet price"

Gardeners look for fruit that is more valuable during Tet.

Tet is approaching, but many gardeners and traders say that the selling prices of many types of fruit have not shown any signs of increasing, purchasing power is still slow, while fruit output is not much.

Many gardeners said that in previous years, the prices of many types of fruits during Tet were often high, helping farmers earn high profits. However, recently, the market has become more unpredictable. As Tet approaches, the prices of some types of fruits are not high, causing difficulties for farmers.

According to many gardeners, grapefruit is a popular fruit to display during the Lunar New Year because grapefruit has a long shelf life and beautiful color. Currently, many grapefruit gardeners are busy preparing to harvest and bring to the Tet market. However, the price of grapefruit this year is not high, causing many gardeners to worry.

Mr. Vo Trung Tinh (My Hoa commune, Binh Minh town) said: "This year's weather makes it difficult to flower and keep the fruit. Besides, because the grapefruit garden is old and exploited a lot, the grapefruit yield is not high anymore." "It's close to Tet but the consumption is lower than expected, leading to low selling prices. Meanwhile, the output of beautiful grapefruit for Tet is also less" - Mr. Trung Tinh added.

According to Mr. Truong Ngoc Trong - Director of My Hoa Pomelo Production and Consumption Cooperative (My Hoa Commune, Binh Minh Town), since the beginning of the year, pomelo prices have always remained low.

This year's pomelo yield is not much due to difficulties in producing flowers and fruit, while the area of mature pomelos has increased. The price of grade 1 pomelos for Tet decoration is currently at 30,000-40,000 VND/kg, grade 2 and grade 3 are from 20,000-25,000 VND/kg, down from 15,000-20,000 VND/kg compared to the same period.

“At this time, consumption is slow, the market is very stagnant. If last year, many customers and agents came to place orders, this year we only see a few, the old customers have not yet paid deposits while in previous years they have paid deposits for a long time. Therefore, this Tet, the Cooperative is expected to supply the Tet market with about 30 tons of pomelos, a decrease of about 30% compared to last year. The consumption market is mainly in the province and some neighboring provinces,” said Mr. Trong.

Some grapefruit growers also said that to limit risks, they have processed a part of the area for harvesting during Tet, and the rest will be harvested after Tet.

“Better” than grapefruit prices, Tet mango prices have only increased in recent days, but this year’s mango output is not much. Mr. Nguyen Van Truc Linh - Director of Quoi Thien Cat Num Mango Cooperative (Quoi Thien commune, Vung Liem district) said:

This year, gardeners have encountered many difficulties in processing flowers and fruits due to the impact of weather and perennial crops, so the mango output supplied to the Tet market has decreased by about 50% compared to last year. The price of mangoes for Tet this year has also increased compared to a few months ago. Specifically, Cat Chu mangoes are from 18,000 VND/kg, Cat Num mangoes are from 25,000 VND/kg. Currently, there are also some traders coming to buy, around December 25th, the harvest will be completed.

“To serve the Tet market this year, I also processed 20 hectares of mango trees to produce fruit from now until around March. The price of mangoes is currently stable, equivalent to the price of mangoes last year, so gardeners also make a profit. However, because the mango output is lower than last year, profits have also decreased,” Mr. Linh shared.

While gardeners are still waiting for the last-minute fruit market, many small fruit markets are in the same mood because the current fruit purchasing power is still quite slow. Ms. Tran Thi Diep, a fruit seller at Vinh Long market, said: At this time, the purchasing power of some fruits such as grapefruit, mango, custard apple, papaya, etc. has increased by 10-20% compared to normal days.

Because these are the fruits that are often used to display on the five-fruit tray. However, purchasing power has decreased by about 30-40% compared to last year. The prices of some fruits are also at an average level, not as high as last year. "We have to wait until about December 25-26 to know if the market is "buying" or not. Therefore, I do not dare to order a lot, I will sell as much as I can" - Ms. Diep said.

Specifically, dragon fruit is 30,000-35,000 VND/kg, green-skin grapefruit for Tet is 40,000-45,000 VND/kg, tangerine is 50,000 VND/kg, Hoa Loc mango is 60,000-70,000 VND/kg (down 30,000-40,000 VND/kg compared to last year), custard apple is 70,000 VND/kg...

The purchasing power of fruit at the market has not increased much.

According to many retailers, in addition to consumers tightening their spending, imported fruits such as grapes, apples, oranges, tangerines, and cherries are sold more, and the prices of some foreign fruits are cheaper than domestic fruits.

With about a week left until Tet, many gardeners and small traders are nervous, waiting for the last minute market, hoping that fruit prices will be high, the market will be more bustling to celebrate Tet more fully and prosperously.

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