Grapefruit with stems sells for 75,000 VND/kg. At this moment, customers don’t have a concept of expensive or cheap, they just want to feel that the product is beautiful and fresh… and then buy it. “The five-fruit tray on Tet Day must have the biggest and best fruits, so I usually wait until the end of the day to buy. Even though I know the price will be 2-3 times higher than usual, I still accept it. It’s Tet, there’s only one day like this in a year” – shared Mrs. Binh (residence on Nguyen Trai street, district 5).
Red, orange, and yellow fruits are also in high demand.
Mangoes are priced and publicly announced by retailers, with Hoa Loc mangoes ranging from 30,000 – 55,000 VND/kg. All of them are “hot” goods (picked at the garden and delivered to the city on the same day). According to the retailers, mangoes are cheap because it’s currently in the fruit season and the fruit is very fresh and tasty.
Male customers also take advantage to go shopping for their family.
The market is full of flowers and fruits
Red “mountains” of dragon fruits at the market, priced from 30,000 VND/kg. Customers are buying them in large quantities.
Fresh flowers of all kinds are displayed and sold directly on the streets, with stable prices such as marigold for 45,000 VND/bunch, chrysanthemum and lily for 50,000 – 75,000 VND/bunch…
Vegetables have slightly increased in price, such as lettuces for 60,000 VND/kg, cucumbers for 35,000 VND/kg…
Poultry is being sold a lot at the market. “Today, almost all retailers in traditional markets are no longer selling, they’re only selling outside of the market, so customers are very crowded. The price of chickens is the same as usual, ranging from 130,000 – 140,000 VND” – said a retailer who sells ducks and chickens on Trang Tu street (district 5).
Since early morning, the surrounding roads of Ba Chieu, Thi Nghe (Binh Thanh district), Phu Lam (district 6), Hoa Binh (district 5) markets are packed with people.
According to the regulations of Ho Chi Minh City, most of the streets must be cleaned and cleared before noon on the 30th of Tet, so the markets are only allowed to open for half of the day. Therefore, people go shopping earlier and sellers stay up all night to serve the “supreme”. The peak time for the last market session in the lunar year is usually from 7 – 10 AM.
