Nearly half a million dong for a pair of red grapefruits "presented to the king" on Tet holiday

Ms. Lan - the owner of a grapefruit garden in Thanh Hoa - said that her garden always sells out of red grapefruit during Tet. Last year, the price of this item dropped sharply, but now purchasing power has increased again, so the price has increased by 5-10%. Currently, grapefruit in her garden sells for 80,000-130,000 VND per fruit (depending on the model and size).

While growing grapefruit and purchasing products for farmers, Mr. Tran Tien Hai, in Thanh Hoa, said that this year he supplied 15,000 fruits to the market, a 25% decrease compared to the 2019-2020 period.

"Each grapefruit is being sold for 130,000-150,000 VND for those weighing less than 1 kg. Beautiful, even fruits weighing 1.3-1.5 kg cost 200,000-250,000 VND," said Mr. Hai.

Grapefruit is picked from 6-10 year old trees, has a strong aroma, natural red color, deep red flesh inside, juicy, weight 800 grams to 2 kg.

According to him, there are many hybrid varieties of red grapefruit on the market, but the quality is poor. Although the color is eye-catching, it is not as fragrant and delicious as the purebred variety, so buyers should be careful.

While red grapefruit is being sold at high prices by gardeners, many retail stores say purchasing power is still lower than the same period last year because Tet is still far away and consumers are tightening their spending.

As an online sales agent in Cau Giay (Hanoi), Ms. Oanh said that each batch only imports about 200 red grapefruits, and customers only order more when they have all bought them.

"This year's prices are higher than every year, so I don't dare to keep the goods because if they don't sell, I will lose a lot of money," said Ms. Oanh.

Ms. Lam Thi Thuy Van, a shop owner in Lam Dong, said that last year she sold thousands of red grapefruits to the market but this year she still does not dare to import goods because of weak purchasing power.

According to local people in Thanh Hoa, red grapefruit used to be a product offered to the king and was chosen for the five-fruit tray on Tet holiday. This type of grapefruit is green when young like other grapefruit varieties, but when it grows up, it gradually turns yellow and when it is ripe, it turns completely red. This type can be displayed for Tet for 2-4 months (depending on how it is preserved).