Surprising discounts on vegetables and fruits during the Lunar New Year month.

On February 23rd (January 14th), at traditional markets such as Ba Chieu Market, Thị Nghè Market (Binh Thanh District), Hoa Hung Market (District 5), Binh Thoi Market (District 11), there were many fruit offerings available for the full moon ceremony of the first lunar month; especially vegetarian products such as mushrooms and tofu were more abundant compared to normal days. Since early morning, there were more customers than usual but not as crowded as previous years.

At a tofu stall near Hoa Hung Market (District 10), various types of fried tofu, soy milk, vegetarian sausages, and tofu skin rolls were sold at prices ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 VND (depending on the type). The owner of the tofu stall said that there were more customers than usual but not as many as in previous years. “Normally, by this time, we would have sold out of tofu, but this year there are still some left. The amount of tofu sold has not increased much compared to normal days. For example, if we typically sell 50kg of tofu, today it has increased to 70kg, but the selling price remains the same,” the tofu stall owner said.

Based on the survey of many fruit stalls, most prices have not increased and even decreased. Dragon fruit was priced at around 20,000 to 25,000 VND per kg, mangoes at 35,000 VND per kg. Especially, large green-skinned pomelos weighing from 3 to 5 kg, with the stem still fresh, were priced at only 30,000 VND per kg. Poultry for the full moon ceremony ranged from 150,000 to 170,000 VND per kg.

Vegetables have all decreased in price by 5,000 to 7,000 VND per kg. Water spinach and green mustard were priced at 12,000 to 15,000 VND per kg, sponge gourd and lettuce were priced at 20,000 VND per kg, tomatoes were priced at 20,000 to 30,000 VND per kg. Fresh mushrooms have also not increased in price, ranging from 50,000 to 70,000 VND per kg for different mushroom types such as chicken drumstick mushroom and shiitake mushroom. Meanwhile, straw mushrooms sold out.

Prices of meat and seafood have remained stable but there are hardly any customers buying them, such as pork belly priced at 150,000 VND per kg, pork leg and pork loin priced at 100,000 VND per kg, and pork ribs priced at 160,000 VND per kg.

Many flower sellers on the sidewalk are offering surprisingly low prices. Specifically, daisy flowers are priced at only 10,000 VND per bunch, while other flowers such as lilies and money flowers are priced slightly higher, ranging from 20,000 to 25,000 VND per bunch. In addition, ready-to-eat vegetarian dishes such as braised tofu with lemongrass, sour soup, and kimchi are priced from 10,000 to 15,000 VND per dish.

“I have a habit of eating vegetarian food on the 14th and 15th day of the lunar month to pray for peace for myself and my family. In these days, vegetarian dishes and fruits are usually more expensive and sold out early. However, this year the prices are the same as usual and there are not too many customers even during peak hours in the morning market,” said Ms. Minh Nga (living on Cach Mang Thang Tam street, District 3).

According to the sellers, this year customers tend to reduce their spending and only buy a sufficient amount. In addition, traditional markets have to compete with various other forms of sales such as supermarkets, organic food stores, online markets, and services that provide ready-made festive dishes, resulting in reduced purchasing power at the market compared to previous years,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a vendor at Nghia Tan Market.

Ms. Do Thuy Hoa, representative of the Management Board of Binh Chieu Market, admitted that purchasing power at the market has decreased significantly after Tet, by about 60%. In addition to the difficult economic situation, people have just finished shopping for Tet so the demand for shopping has also decreased, even on the day of the Kitchen God or the full moon of the first lunar month.