Peach “dressed” Sapa is red, round and very beautiful to look at From the beginning of May until now, on many roads in Saigon such as Cach Mang Thang Tam (Tan Binh District), Vo Thi Sau (District 3), Dien Bien Phu (District 3), Ta Uyen (District 11). ) … selling a variety of peaches in Sapa for only 16,000-20,000 VND/kg. At the small market on the side of Cho Lon Bus Station (District 6), street carts and sidewalk markets all invite customers to buy goods. “This is genuine Sapa peaches, the price is 16,000 VND/kg, guaranteed to be crispy, delicious and sweet” – the street vendor just splits the peaches for customers to try and advertise. Inside the market, rows of fruit stalls have peaches at the price of 30,000-35,000 VND/kg. “This peach, I put my acquaintances down from Sapa, not through traders. It takes about 2-3 days for new goods to arrive, so peaches are always fresh, crispy and sweet; Customers like it very much,” said Ms. Thuy, a small fruit seller. Buying 3 kg of peaches to eat, Ms. Lan Huong (living in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City) said: “Every time the peach season comes, I buy it for my family to enjoy. Sometimes when I see ripe peaches that are rejected by small traders, I buy “bags” and then soak them in sugar to make peach tea. At Hoa Binh market (District 5, Ho Chi Minh City), Mrs. C. – a small fruit seller confirmed: “The peaches sold in the carts, street vendors are “fake” peaches, and mine is the genuine Sapa. Those who sell peaches for less than 20,000 VND are not from Sapa, and I do not know where the origin is. Sapa peaches must be big and round, ripe like this to be real.” Mrs. C. is selling peaches for 30,000 VND/kg. Take about 20,000 kg per day to sell to customers. Asked Mrs. C if she got it from the wholesale market, this person shook her head and said: “All the fruits here are delivered to me to sell, not from the wholesale market”. When I tried to buy Sapa peaches to eat, with the green fruit, it was quite crispy but with acrid taste, and the ripe fruit was soft and cold; Doesn’t taste as sweet as advertised. A representative of a supermarket in Ho Chi Minh City said that currently this supermarket has Sapa peaches, but the quantity is not much. Sapa peaches do not look beautiful, nor are they pink and shiny like in markets. Currently, the selling price at this unit is about 39,000 VND/kg. However, this fruit product is constantly out of stock. Meanwhile, in the price list of fruits imported into the Thu Duc wholesale market for agricultural products (the largest wholesale market of agricultural products in Ho Chi Minh City), Sapa peaches are not present in this market. Characteristics of authentic Sapa peaches Sapa peaches have recognizable characteristics, the fruit is only as small as a tea cup, fragrant, crispy and slightly sour. In particular, the shell of Sapa peach has a soft downy layer. That’s why people here also call it “Sapa feather peach”. Meanwhile, peaches “labelled” Sapa often originate from China with the characteristics of smooth, smooth skin, little or no hair, and quite large size. Chinese peaches do not keep their crispiness for long, the pulp is yellow, when eaten, they are soft and less sweet. These large berry peaches are advertised by small traders originating from Sapa, priced at 25,000 VND / kg Cart for goods only 15,000 VND/kg The fruit is still green, squeezed hard, crunchy but no taste Ripe fruits are soft, cold to eat, not sweet and fragrant USA Although the wholesale market has no goods, but Sapa peaches have appeared in many markets, street carts The characteristic to recognize the true Sapa peach is that the fruit has many hairs, the head is slightly hooked like a crow’s beak. While this item sold in the market does not have those characteristics.

Following the above decrease, the price of thin pork (wholesale pig/jaw) of grades 1 and 2 also dropped sharply by about 12,000-15,000 VND/kg, to 85,000 VND/kg grade 1 and 78,000 VND/kg grade 2, respectively. However, the price of mixed pork belly has not decreased much, only about 5,000 VND/kg. Specifically, the previous sausage from 90,000 VND/kg to 85,000 VND/kg; drumstick drumsticks 85,000 VND/kg to 80,000 VND/kg, lean chips 110,000 VND/kg to 105,000 VND/kg. Particularly, young ribs still keep the price of 150,000 VND/kg, while before it was at 145,000 VND/kg. Explaining the above disproportionate price reduction, Mr. Tien said that normally, when the price of pigs goes down, the price of thin pigs will also drop directly, even if the reduction is more than the price of live pigs. Particularly, mixed pork usually does not decrease immediately, but gradually, on the contrary, the increase will also be gradual because traders and traders have signed contracts with each other in advance for a fixed period of time. Retail pork prices are still high, making consumers wonder. That is also the reason why small traders in some retail markets said that the price of pork of all kinds they sold has not decreased much, some places only decreased by about 5,000 – 10,000 VND/kg. Co Nhi, a small pork trader at Go Vap market (HCMC), said that for more than a week now, she has been importing wholesale pork at a high, unchanged price, about 117,000 – 125,000 VND/kg. Therefore, the retail price of pork remains high: young ribs 180,000-190,000 VND/kg, bacon 155,000 – 160,000 VND/kg, thighs 110,000 – 120,000 VND/kg… “The wholesale price of pork has not decreased, so I still keep the selling price. Prices of ham, ribs, and bacon are still high, so customers buy less and consumption is slow. Accordingly, the amount of imported goods also decreased from 100 kg/day to only 40 kg/day. Only when the wholesale price of imported pork and snakehead meat decreases, the retail price will decrease accordingly, which can stimulate buyers to increase pork consumption again,” Ms. Nhi said. Mr. Nguyen Dang Phu – Deputy General Director of Vietnam Vissan Animal Industry Joint Stock Company, also assessed that the sales force for pork products is currently very slow, the company has to reduce the price of all kinds of young ribs and cutlets by 15%. , pork belly pulled ribs… to stimulate purchasing power. Meanwhile, in the same market, the price of pork varies from place to place. At Base Market 26A (Go Vap District, some stalls quote the price of young ribs VND 165,000/kg, bacon 120,000 VND/kg, thighs 100,000 VND/kg… But another stall is not far away, the seller quoted the price. higher than 20,000 – 25,000 VND/kg, specifically: 180,000 VND/kg baby ribs, 140,000 VND/kg bacon, 120,000 VND/kg thighs… As explained by the small traders, the retail price of pork depends on each market, both wholesale and retail markets. At the beginning of the session (3 – 4 am) pork prices will be high and prices will decrease at the end of the session (6 – 7 am). Some retail sellers will watch out for wholesale markets to import “dropped goods” at cheap prices and sell cheaply to push goods; and those who import goods early, the meat is delicious, the price is higher, so they are forced to retail at a high price. “This whole week, I imported thin pigs with a constant price of 105,000 VND/kg, not 78,000 – 85,000 VND/kg. Not to mention, the purchasing power is slow, there is still a lot of meat left in the afternoon so I have to sell it all cheaply to the shops; The price at the beginning of the session, at the end of the session, is not much profit,” explained Ms. Thuyen – selling pork at Cho Base 26A. As noted by us, meat prices at some slaughterhouses also remained high. For example, in Vissan, even after the reduction of pork, it is still quite high. Pork ribs 275,000 VND/kg reduced to 210,000 VND/kg, pork belly 205,000 VND/kg reduced to 175,000 VND/kg, thigh meat 166,000 VND/kg reduced to 145,000 VND/kg… Branded packaged pork… Meat Deli is even higher: thigh 152,000 VND/kg, pork belly 192,000 VND/kg, cutlet 124,000 VND/kg, pork leg boneless 160,000 VND/kg… (According to Women in HCMC)

Ms. Trinh Thi Mai from Yen Xa, Hanoi, two weeks ago started selling Dak Lak pink lychee. She said, this is the first fabric of the season that she imported from the Central Highlands to sell to gourmets. “Dak Lak persimmon usually ripens early and yields earlier than other lychees in the country. Usually, this type of fabric will start to ripen from April, until May is the end of the season. Years ago, many people ordered this pink fabric. Every day, I sell weights even though the price is up to 100,000 VND/kg when I go to Hanoi. But this year, the purchasing power dropped sharply even though the price of lychee fell to only 50,000 VND/kg. While at this price last year, customers can only buy loose fruit, without branches, without leaves, “Ms. Mai said. The first fabric of this year’s season is half as cheap as last year This small trader shared, because it is just the beginning of the season, the lychee is not 100% sweet but only about 70% sweet, still a little sour. However, these lychees are still very fresh and delicious. This fabric is therefore still ordered by gourmets to enjoy and housewives to buy offerings on weekdays and full moon days. “The early season lychee is very fresh and sweet, with thick pulp, thin skin, and large, uniform fruits. Because it is beautiful and has a much cheaper price than usual, many customers still order 1-2kg to burn incense. But in general, purchasing power this year is slower than last year because of the Covid-19 epidemic, consumers spend more sparingly. Every day I can only sell about 10-20 kg of lychee,” said Mai. Also a small trader is selling litchi at the beginning of the season, but Ms. Tran Thi Huyen sells hybrid fabrics. Although at the beginning of the season, Huyen sells for only 25,000 VND / kg, 100,000 VND / 4 kg. Huyen said that these are hybrid lychee branches, sweet and sour taste. They are picked at the lychee garden in her hometown, Hung Yen, so they are very fresh. Because it is the fabric of the house, she sells it at a cheaper price than at the market. “Every year, fabric is usually exported to China. But this year, the export market is very quiet, the gardeners are absent from traders who come to deposit to buy. Therefore, the lychee is ripe until it is cut.” Because it is the first type of Northern litchi at the beginning of the season, it has the same cheap price as other popular fruits, so when she sold it online, it attracted the attention of many housewives. Customers often order from 2kg or more to burn incense or taste. “Last year, my family sold lychee at wholesale markets for about 30,000 VND/kg. Selling online, I offer 40,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, many online shops also sell 50,000-60,000 VND/kg. However, this year the pandemic ended, so I sold it at that price and received a lot of support from many sisters,” Huyen said. According to PV’s observations, on the online market at this time, many small traders sell hybrid fabrics, pink lychee, and egg yolk litchi grown in Quang Ninh and Hung Yen. Because the small traders said, this time there is no lychee. This fabric is about a month away from the main crop. This small trader commented: “Although hybrid lychees and lychees are not as delicious as Bac Giang lychees, their fruits are quite large, round, succulent, and do not have head decay. In particular, the cloth is clean without preservatives, safer than many other fruits.” Before the complicated development of the new Covid-19 epidemic, many lychee sellers also expressed concern that the purchasing power of lychee was low and could not be exported. Despite the large number of customers ordering, the number of customers decreased significantly compared to last year, and in the main season, the price of cloth will surely decrease even more. “Therefore, our family is considering a plan to promote retailing at markets, especially wholesale markets, toad markets and online markets. In addition, try to connect with supermarkets to see if they can push fabrics to sell. Besides, there will also be a plan to dry and store cold to sell gradually”, Ms. Huyen shared.

In many supermarkets, convenience stores, wholesale and retail markets, pork, beef and chicken of all kinds are defrosted for retail, in which, there are products that are discolored and metamorphosed right on the counters and stalls. See defrosted meat as cool, fresh meat In previous years, imported frozen meat was often preferred by collective kitchens (schools, factories, restaurants) because the price is much cheaper than fresh meat (hot meat) in the country and the price advantage when buying the whole box (per barrel) cartons are usually from 18-25kg). But now, imported meat is defrosted and retailed by stall owners in markets, shops and supermarkets. Bach Hoa Xanh convenience store on Vo Thanh Trang street, Tan Binh district, Ho Chi Minh City sells a lot of lean pork chips, pork ribs, and imported beef thighs. All meats here have been defrosted, chopped, and sold as cool or fresh meats. According to some customers, they buy this type of product because it is cheap and easy to process. Some customers don’t even know it’s defrosted meat. “All meat imported here is frozen meat that has been defrosted and has the same quality as chilled meats,” the store employee said. Many types of defrosted meat sold on the side of the wholesale market for agricultural products and food in Hoc Mon began to change color, but consumers still flocked to buy it due to the low price. At the Tops Market supermarket on Au Co Street, Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City, the amount of beef imported from the US and Australia is quite large, overwhelming domestic beef. Meat is divided into many types such as ribs, pork belly, shoulder loin, corn, neck core meat, lean thigh, lean shoulder, flower corn… All are cut into all sizes (1-2cm thick slices, thin slices, slices). square, wrap enoki mushrooms…) and then put in a plastic tray with a weight of 300-400g, which is very suitable for the retail needs of most customers. It is not easy to recognize that this is defrosted meat because the small stamps on the surface of the tray only show the words “American beef shoulder”, “Australian beef shoulder”… With thick cuts of meat, still fine. Ice crystals between the fibers are easier to see, but with thin slices, the ice crystals disappear, they look like cool meat. Meanwhile, at the counter, there is no information that this is defrosted meat. Some meats have a promotional label, which has a three-day shelf life. According to staff, this supermarket often has promotions and discounts directly on products; all promotional meat is fresh meat, not old meat like in other supermarkets (?). At Big C supermarket on Truong Chinh Street, Tan Phu District, in addition to imported beef and pork, there are also whole chickens, garlic thighs, and imported chicken thighs. All kinds of pork and beef are also chopped, blistered, and sold in the freezer. Particularly, the types of chicken are defrosted and sold as fresh chicken in the country. At this area, there is a sign warning consumers: “Product has been defrosted, please do not re-freeze”. At Lotte Mart supermarket, imported beef has been sliced, packed, and defrosted, but the packaging says “fresh beef”. Not selling all, re-freezing again If supermarkets and shops bring thawed meat to sell as cool meat, in markets, thawed meat is sold as fresh meat. Even at the end of the day, if not sold out, the stall owner will re-freeze the meat to sell the next day. At a beef stall in Ba Hoa market, Tan Binh district, at 6am, all beef tendons in the tray were still a bit cold, some pieces of meat were still mixed with ice crystals. According to our observations, during the lunch break, this unsold meat continued to be re-frozen and then displayed on a tray for further sale at 15:00. “In the morning, this beef tendon costs 150,000 VND / kg, but in the afternoon, the price is about 120,000-130,000 VND / kg. Meat that is not sold out must be re-frozen for preservation. It’s the same everywhere, not just here,” said the stall owner. In markets, it is not difficult to recognize frozen beef and buffalo meat that is thawed and sold as fresh meat. Imported goods are mainly packed in boxes according to categories such as thigh, loin, and neck meat, while most stalls also sell these types. These defrosted meats often darken very quickly when sold at room temperature, especially on hot days. Previously, the Veterinary Department of Ho Chi Minh City had exposed cases of defrosting meat and then dipping it into fresh beef blood to deceive consumers. Route 4 on the side of Hoc Mon wholesale market for agricultural products and food is the gathering place for dozens of frozen pork trucks. This is also a place to sell defrosted and re-frozen pork on a fairly large scale. Here, there are more than a dozen stainless steel tables set up next to refrigerated trucks for small traders to display meat for sale. Meat is exposed, uncovered, under the table only temporarily lined with cardboard or plastic bags. Meat juice from the table dripped to the ground, pooled in puddles, and smelled foul. These “stalls” sell all kinds of pork such as tenderloin, cutlet, young ribs, bacon, lean shoulder, thigh, ham, hoof, and offal. Because everything is frozen, when it’s on the table, it’s a bit cold. The prices of these meats are half as cheap as hot meat in the wholesale market of agricultural products and food in Hoc Mon: pork leg and pork belly at 55,000 VND/kg; Young ribs, pork heart cost 65,000 VND/kg. According to our observations, most customers come here to buy wholesale, at least 5kg or more, in and out continuously. Vendors also use their bare hands to pick up meat for customers, with only a few wearing gloves. A seller here said that the customers who come to buy are mainly people from restaurants and collective kitchens, they take a lot of money due to the cheap price, but the delicious meat is not inferior to fresh meat because it is preserved by refrigerated trucks. specialized. However, it was only around 7am, the sun was still not shining, the meat in some stalls had stopped freezing, started to turn a little pale, not pink, and lost its elasticity when pressed. This amount of meat is put in plastic bags by the owners of the stalls and brought to the refrigerated truck to be re-frozen, wait a few hours or the next day for sale. This happens from early morning to late evening. According to regulations, to sell frozen meat, small traders in the wholesale market of agricultural products and food in Hoc Mon must register; If you do not register, you will be severely fined. Meanwhile, the “field stalls” on the side of this market sell defrosted meat without knowing if it has an expiration date or is marinated with any preservatives. (According to Women in HCMC)

Ha Long Fish Market is famous until now because it usually meets at midnight to morning. But not so that the market is empty. In contrast, the market is extremely crowded and bustling. In the middle of the night, when fishing boats and seafood dock at the port, the wholesale price is set. Each basket, each barrel of fresh seafood such as crab, squid, shrimp, crab, … are loaded ashore. At this time, many traders and people were waiting to choose goods. These early market goers are considered “connoisseurs” because here, fresh seafood from fishermen’s hands is affordable. The brighter the sky, the more crowded people flock to the market. Some people go to the gymnasium also to pop in to buy fresh seafood for their families. Strabismus has tourists walking around, taking photos of Ha Long fish market in the early morning. In addition, traders from neighboring provinces also beat a convoy of vehicles here to collect seafood to sell everywhere. Because, Quang Ninh seafood is famous all over the country for its freshness, deliciousness and sweetness. Some pictures of the bustling fish market soon in the city. Ha Long: At midnight, fishing ships docked with fresh seafood Boat owners begin work to load seafood ashore Fresh fish is available for sale at the fish market A quick sleep of a fish merchant at the market The busiest ‘not sleeping’ fish market in Ha Long The people of Ha Long go to the fish market early to buy fresh fish from the boat Fresh seafood is carried on the market, every barrel As the morning comes, the market is busier with buyers and sellers Anyone who has a need to preliminarily process fish small businesses is also happy to serve them People who go to the market early are said to be ‘connoisseurs’ because it is fresh and affordable Cars from neighboring provinces also come here to buy seafood Small traders also take advantage of buying enough goods to go to other markets to sell “Shipper squadron” waiting to deliver goods to those in need