After a period of strong price increases due to unfavorable weather and scarce supply, the green vegetable market in Can Tho City has cooled down significantly in recent days. Many types of leafy vegetables have been greatly reduced, some items are only sold for a few thousand dong per kilogram in the fields. Contrary to the general trend, chili prices remain high, although they have decreased slightly compared to the peak about a week ago.
Recorded at the vegetable and fruit wholesale market in Soc Trang ward (Can Tho city), chili prices continue to be a product that makes consumers hesitant when buying.
Ms. Kieu - a long-time vegetable seller at the market said that the price of dangerous chili has decreased in recent days but is not stable. "C chili prices have decreased for several days but yesterday they started to increase again. The unknown purchase price is 130,000 VND/kg," said Ms. Kieu.
According to Ms. Kieu, with such an import price, the retail price of dangerous chili ranges from 150,000 - 160,000 VND/kg. However, the profits of traders are not high due to loss during the selling process. "It's very risky, easy to lose money, lose money, and wear down. Selling can't make a profit of 10,000 VND/kg, it must be over 20,000 - 30,000 VND to cover the cost", she explained.
Ms. Kieu said that there has never been a year when the price of chili was as high as this year. The main cause is heavy rain and high tides causing widespread flooding in many chili growing areas. "A few years ago, in Chau Doc and Long Xuyen (An Giang), there were still goods brought down. This year the water is all over, Da Lat is also flooded, there is no supply so goods are scarce, the price must be high", Ms. Kieu explained.
Currently, Ms. Kieu mainly sells small dangerous chili ( Bun chili) and does not import corn chili or colored chili due to slow consumption. Every day, her stall sells about 4 - 5 kg of chili, mainly to serve the family's daily needs. "Buying power has decreased significantly, people only buy retail for a few thousand VND each time. People buy for around 5,000 - 10,000 VND, but the price is so high that no one dares to buy much," she said.
Another trader at a vegetable and fruit wholesale market in Soc Trang ward (Can Tho city) said that the price of beautiful chillies used to be up to 150,000 - 160,000 VND/kg (if sold for wholesale at 10kg and retail at about 200,000 VND/kg) but has decreased to about 100,000 VND/kg in the past few days. Meanwhile, Da Lat chili is currently purchased for about 65,000 VND/kg, sold for 70,000 - 75,000 VND/kg, depending on the color. However, purchasing power is still weak due to prolonged high prices, causing consumers to tighten spending.
A survey at some supermarkets shows that chili prices are still very high. On December 25, the price of dangerous chili at Co.opmart online system increased to 217,000 VND/kg, while buffalo horn chili was sold for over 168,000 VND/kg.
Ms. Huynh Kim Ngan (My Xuyen ward, Can Tho city) said that the current price of chili is almost equivalent to the price of 1 kg of pork. "A week ago, I bought chili at the local market for 200,000 VND/kg. Although it has decreased, it is still at a high level. Previously, when buying vegetables, traders often gave us a few chili fruits, but recently the price has increased sharply, so we are almost no longer allowed to add them, except for long-term acquaintances," Ms. Ngan shared.
On the other hand, in growing areas, chili prices have cooled down somewhat compared to a week ago, but the supply is scarce. Mr. Lam Van Hung, residing in My Xuyen ward (Can Tho city) said that his family grows about 1,000 m2 of chili but the yield is not significant. "Three weeks ago, I sold 2 kg of chili for 75,000 VND/kg. A week ago, the price of chili in the garden was over 100,000 VND/kg, so there was no chili to sell. Now the price has decreased to 60,000 - 65,000 VND/kg, there are still no goods," Mr. Hung shared.
According to Mr. Hung, this year's chili crop was affected by prolonged rain, causing the chili plant to rot at the roots and grow unevenly, with reduced output and quality.
Similarly, Ms. Danh Thi Thanh (Ngoc To commune, Can Tho city) said that her family's 1,000 m2 chili garden has been flooded for a long time, the chili trees have rotten roots and cannot be harvested yet. "Sometimes the price goes up to 110,000 VND/kg without selling chili. Previously, the highest was only 30,000 - 35,000 VND/kg, and there has never been a higher price than this year," Ms. Thanh regretted.
