At traditional markets in Can Tho City such as Tan An, Xuan Khanh, Ba Bo, etc., prices of many agricultural products have slightly decreased compared to before the storm.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien - a trader at Xuan Khanh market (Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city) - shared that the supply of agricultural products is still abundant and not affected by storms. In particular, the prices of some vegetables and tubers tend to decrease according to consumer purchasing power.
“About a week ago, people were worried that the rain would make shopping difficult, so they took advantage of the opportunity to buy a lot of food. Demand was high, purchasing power and prices both increased. However, when the storm ended, the purchasing power of many consumers slowed down, so the prices of vegetables and tubers also decreased,” said Ms. Lien.
At Ms. Lien's stall, the price of green mustard and sweet mustard has decreased from 25,000 VND to 23,000 VND/kg; water spinach from 19,000 VND to 17,000 VND/kg; grade 1 Da Lat tomatoes are sold at 35,000 VND/kg, a decrease of 5,000 VND/kg; grade 1 seedless lemons from 28,000 VND/kg to 15,000 VND/kg, etc.
Trading at Tan An market (Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city), Ms. My Ngoc said that because it is the peak harvest season, many types of fruit are priced lower than 1-2 weeks ago. Prices have decreased, but according to this trader, customer consumption is only at an average level, 20% lower than before the storm.
“After the storm, the supply of fruits is still guaranteed, even many types have low prices due to the harvest season such as guava pear from 20,000 to 15,000 VND/kg, papaya from 14,000 to 11,000 VND/kg, other fruits such as rambutan, longan, dragon fruit, ... also slightly decreased from 1,000 - 2,000 VND/kg", the trader shared.
Faced with reduced purchasing power, retailer Nguyen Thi Lien has reduced the amount of vegetables and tubers imported each day by about 30-40% to avoid capital shortages.
“Purchasing power has decreased while vegetables and tubers cannot be preserved for long, they wilt or turn yellow after just a few days. Therefore, I only import goods once every 2-3 days. Previously, I imported 10 kg of each type of vegetable and tubers, but now I only import 5-7 kg of each type,” said Ms. Lien.
Meanwhile, Ms. My Ngoc prioritizes importing popular fruits or fruits that have been pre-ordered to serve the needs of parties.
“I am also hesitant to import a lot of fruit because people’s demand is low. Instead of buying off-season, high-priced fruits, I prioritize low-priced items so that even if they are damaged, it will not affect my capital too much. I only buy more fruit if someone orders a large quantity for a party,” Ngoc shared.
