From 6:30 am, Trung Hoa market (Trung Hoa ward, Hanoi) was already bustling with buyers and sellers. On vegetable stalls, small traders continuously fanned and sprayed water to keep food fresh when the outdoor temperature began to rise. The prolonged heat wave not only increased the demand for cooling food but also pushed up the prices of many essential goods, creating more pressure for both sellers and buyers.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa - a vegetable trader at Trung Hoa market (Hanoi) said that hot weather makes trading difficult because green vegetables wilt quickly and the loss rate increases.
It's so hot, vegetables wither very quickly, especially leafy vegetables. Some days at noon, the price has already dropped, so I have to import more trips to maintain freshness. Input prices have increased, so each bunch of vegetables also increases by a few thousand VND," Ms. Hoa said.
According to Ms. Hoa, leafy vegetables such as mustard greens, Malabar spinach, water spinach are the group most clearly affected due to difficulty preserving in high temperature conditions. Although input prices have increased, many small traders are still hesitant to adjust selling prices because they are worried that customers will cut spending.
Surveys at some traditional markets such as Trung Kinh market, Hoa Bang market and Mai Dich market show that the prices of many fresh food items, green vegetables and fruits are tending to increase by 5–10% compared to the beginning of the month.
Specifically, leafy vegetables such as water spinach, mustard greens, Malabar spinach currently range from 15,000–25,000 VND/bunch; tomatoes are commonly priced at 25,000–35,000 VND/kg.
At the meat selling area of Trung Hoa market, many small traders have to turn on fans continuously to keep food fresh in hot conditions. Some pork items recorded a slight price increase compared to before the heat wave. Pork belly currently fluctuates around 120,000–150,000 VND/kg, while pork ribs are common from about 150,000 VND/kg depending on the type and time of import.
“It's hot, so meat is harder to preserve, fans and electricity almost run all day. Some days when customers buy late, they have to increase ice to keep goods, costs increase, so selling prices also increase slightly by about 3–4% compared to the beginning of May,” a meat trader at the market said.
Not only sellers, many families in Hanoi are also beginning to clearly feel the pressure of spending in the hot season.
Mr. Nguyen Van Manh (Cau Giay) said that his family of 3 currently spends about 10-15 million VND per month on living expenses. However, from mid-May, when Hanoi entered the peak of hot weather, many expenses began to increase significantly.
In recent days, going to the market, I have seen vegetable and fruit prices increase quite clearly. The house has young children, so almost every day I have to buy more fruits, yogurt, and juice to cool down. The air conditioner is also turned on more often, so the electricity bill will definitely increase significantly. It turns out that each week the family incurs an additional 100,000-200,000 VND for food and living expenses in the hot season," Mr. Manh shared.
Not only small traders in people's markets, but many food businesses are also struggling to adapt to harsh weather.
A vermicelli restaurant on Tay Son street (Hanoi) has fewer customers eating than usual. The restaurant owner said that instead of going out in the scorching sun, many people switch to ordering through food delivery applications.
Customers at the restaurant decreased, but online orders increased. Air conditioners and refrigerators are almost running all day, not to mention the money for ice, water and food preservation is more difficult, so the actual profit is not as people think," Ms. Thuy - owner of the vermicelli restaurant shared.
In the opposite direction, refreshment drink stalls are entering the most crowded time of the year. At a water stall on Nguyen Thi Dinh street, customers come in and out continuously from late morning, staff are busy mixing to be ready to return orders.
Ms. Do Thu Ha - owner of a water stall in the Trung Hoa area said that hot sunny days help the number of customers increase significantly, but operating costs also increase significantly.
“Normally, the shop sells from 150-200 cups, but in hot weather, the number of customers increases by almost half a day. Customers prefer cool drinks such as strawberry tea, lemon tea, fruit juice, besides, cooling yogurt dishes are also selling much better. However, machinery is operating continuously, so electricity bills, ice and plastic cups have all increased, so revenue is better but profits have not increased much,” Ms. Ha said.
The widespread heat wave in Hanoi not only changes the daily rhythm of life but also creates an additional cost burden for many families and small businesses. While cooling items benefit from increased purchasing power, many small traders still struggle to balance electricity and water, goods preservation and profits in the days when outdoor temperatures continuously reach the threshold of 40 degrees Celsius.
