Fresh vegetables and flowers are in high demand.
At 5am on the 5th day of Tet, Ms. Le Thi Mai transported a cart of various vegetables harvested from her field, including celery, green mustard, and cabbage, to the gate of the Van Quan agricultural market. By 11am, Ms. Mai's cart of vegetables was empty.
"Most people buy vegetables for hot pot. At first, cabbage sold the slowest, but when there were no other vegetables left, people bought them too," said Ms. Mai.
According to Ms. Mai, vegetable prices are only slightly higher than before Tet, because this year the weather is favorable so vegetables are green and plentiful, not scarce. Before Tet, Ms. Mai sold celery for 8,000 VND/bunch, now it is only 10,000 VND/bunch; green mustard from 7,000 VND/bunch to 8,000 VND/bunch; cabbage from 10,000 VND/plant to 12,000 VND/plant.
At the Van Quan agricultural unit market, the main market has not officially opened yet, there are only about a dozen small traders selling in the morning. The main items are fresh flowers, green vegetables, fruits...
At Yen Xa market (Tan Trieu, Thanh Tri, Hanoi), most of the vendors have not opened yet, only a few stalls selling vegetables, noodles, and dried foods are welcoming customers.
Ms. Le Thi Nhung, a dry goods vendor at Yen Xa market, said that on the morning of the 5th, she opened her shop for good luck. “This morning, I sold hundreds of salt packets to people going to the market; next in demand were melons, eggplants, and kimchi; other items sold slowly because many families still had food stored from Tet,” Ms. Nhung said.
Ms. Mai Thi Ngoan - a vendor at Yen Xa market said that the best-selling items on the morning of the 5th day of Tet are fresh mushrooms and tofu. "I think all families eat hot pot to avoid boredom. This morning I sold a whole bird's nest of tofu and dozens of kilos of fresh mushrooms," Ms. Ngoan said.
At the spontaneous market on Khuc Thua Du Street (Dich Vong Ward, Cau Giay District), sweet corn costs 10,000 VND/ear, an increase of about 3,000 VND/ear compared to normal days; watercress costs 7,000 VND/bunch...
Most retailers said that prices of goods have almost not increased or increased insignificantly compared to before Tet.
Fresh flower prices at traditional markets are also quite reasonable, selling very quickly due to the demand for flowers for worshiping at the beginning of the year. Accordingly, dahlias are about 40,000 VND/bunch, chrysanthemums are 6,000 VND/flower, single flowers are 8,000 VND/flower, multi-bud roses are 10,000 VND/branch...
Meat prices do not increase, sales are slow
Surveys at many traditional markets show that pork prices range from 110,000 to 140,000 VND/kg depending on the type; beef shank costs about 320,000 VND/kg; pork ribs cost about 90,000 to 100,000 VND/kg, and loin ribs cost about 140,000 VND/kg.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen transported half a pig from Chuong My to Xa La market (Ha Dong, Hanoi) to sell on the morning of the 5th day of Tet, but sales were slow. “I bought some more fresh beef and veal, which sold much faster; pork sold slowly, and bones sold faster than meat because many people bought bones to cook hot pot. I expected to sell everything in the morning, but it was difficult, I had to sit until mid-afternoon to finish,” Ms. Doan said.
In many traditional markets, traders do not sell much meat but mainly sell chicken to serve families who burn votive offerings. Chicken prices range from 120,000 to 150,000 VND/kg depending on the type.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ly, a chicken trader at Ha Dong market, said that in addition to about a dozen regular customers who asked her to make chicken offerings for burning votive papers, on the morning of the 5th day of Tet, she brought 2 cages of about 40 chickens to sell, but by the end of the morning she had only sold more than 20 chickens. "This year sales are slower than last year. I only see vegetables, seafood, and fresh fish in high demand," Ms. Ly shared.
On the morning of the 5th, Ha Dong market had a few stalls selling seafood, but the products were not diverse, mainly grass carp, carp, clams, shrimp and frozen squid. According to many traders, the price of fresh fish and seafood increased by 10,000 - 30,000 VND/kg compared to before Tet.
