On the 28th of Tet, in many markets in Hanoi, the price of green bananas recorded a very large difference, especially for bunches with odd numbers of fruits. Many large bunches of bananas with odd fruits such as 31, 33, 35 fruits are offered for sale from 500,000 VND to 1 million VND per bunch.
Recorded at Nam Trung Yen market area (Cau Giay), stalls are filled with green bananas to serve the needs of arranging five-fruit trays. According to small traders, bananas are an almost indispensable fruit in the Tet offering tray, so the closer to Tet, the higher the demand.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien (35 years old, Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that she has visited many stalls to find large, beautiful banana bunches with odd numbers of fruits. "I want to choose a large, beautiful bunch with odd fruits. When asked for prices, I found that odd bunches are much more expensive than even bunches. Odd, large, beautiful bunches cost up to 500,000-1 million VND per bunch. While even bunches cost from 100,000, 200,000, 300,000 VND, any price is available," Ms. Lien said.
At another market in Yen Hoa (Cau Giay), a bunch of 29 bananas is sold for 350,000 VND. Ms. Mai, a small trader selling green bananas, said that individual banana bunches are usually 2-3 times more expensive than even bunches. If the bunch has large, uniform, and beautiful fruits, the price can be up to millions of VND. Besides the fruit quantity factor, the price of green bananas during Tet is also much higher than usual due to strong demand.
At Ms. Ngan's stall, bunches of even bananas are priced from 100,000 to 250,000 VND per bunch, depending on the number of fruits. This price is much higher than on normal days. Especially bunches with odd numbers such as 25, 27, 29 fruits are sold from 300,000 to 400,000 VND per bunch. According to Ms. Ngan, the price on the 28th of Tet has decreased compared to 2-3 days ago. "A few days ago, bunches of 29 fruits were priced at 500,000 to 700,000 VND per bunch," she said.
At Nghia Do market (Hanoi), a bunch of 25 bananas is offered for sale at a price of 350,000–400,000 VND per bunch. Many buyers still accept high prices to choose a satisfactory bunch of bananas to display on the offering tray, with the concept that odd numbers symbolize proliferation and fullness in the new year.
According to records, although prices have increased sharply compared to normal days, the number of people looking to buy green bananas on the 28th of Tet is still quite large. Small traders believe that from morning to noon is the busiest trading time, because many families take advantage of completing the offerings before entering the last day of the year.
