Turning Chinese grapes into American grapes to pick the buyers' pockets
Although the grapes are genuine Chinese and imported into Vietnam at a cheap price, in many places, sellers have mixed them with the label "American grapes" to set "cutthroat" prices for consumers. Currently, every day, dozens of tons of Chinese grapes are poured into Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces.
Not only grapes, many other fruits originating from China such as apples, pears... also have unclear origins when brought to the market.
Tons of grapes arrive at the market every night.
Chinese grapes are imported to Thu Duc agricultural wholesale market (HCMC) - Photo: Dung Tuan
At around 10 pm on August 12, at Thu Duc agricultural wholesale market (HCMC), dozens of trucks lined up to transport fruits to all provinces. The largest quantity was still apples, pears, pomegranates and grapes originating from China. However, recently, grapes have been the most popular product among traders from other provinces.
Mr. Hoan, the owner of a fruit stall at My Tho market (Tien Giang), went to Thu Duc wholesale market to get goods. He said that this item is in season, the price is cheap so he can make a lot of profit. Therefore, instead of importing 8-10 boxes like usual, on the evening of August 12, Mr. Hoan increased to 15 boxes.
According to observations, at Thu Duc agricultural wholesale market, fruits are divided into two distinct areas, the "hot" and "cold" areas; "cold" are imported fruits brought to the market by refrigerated trucks.
Mr. P., a wholesaler who mainly delivers grapes to stalls, said: “We take our trucks all the way to China to import goods. After the grapes are packed in foam or plastic boxes, it takes 3-4 days to go through the border gate and then they arrive at the market and are then sold to warehouse owners.” According to Mr. P.’s estimate, every day there are 20-30 tons of grapes from China imported to the market.
Flood the market
Mr. Tai, the owner of a fruit stall at Thu Duc wholesale market, said that currently, there are two types of Chinese grapes in the market: red grapes and green grapes. The price of Chinese red grapes sold to stall owners is 250,000-370,000 VND/box (about 10kg/box), depending on the type, while the price of green grapes is lower, from 25,000-50,000 VND/box. The original price of Chinese red grapes here is only 25,000-37,000 VND/kg.
According to our observations, the plastic and foam boxes containing imported Chinese grapes do not have labels or specific origins. The boxes only have a red grape logo on them without any other language or symbols. After importing goods from traders, warehouse owners and small traders just tear them apart, or even leave the whole box on display, so it is very difficult to detect that these are goods of Chinese origin.
Ms. Lien, a fruit stall owner at Thu Duc wholesale market, said bluntly: "This type of grape is imported without any packaging or labeling, just say it's American grapes and it will sell out." Meanwhile, Ms. Nam, another trader, said: "Chinese grapes are now everywhere, in the Central region, the Central Highlands, but most are still in Ho Chi Minh City and the West."
A point of sale of fake American Chinese grapes on National Highway 1A in Hau Giang province - Photo: Chi Quoc
Indiscriminate prices
Chinese grapes are not only flooding the market but also have prices that are chaotic. Just walking along Truong Chinh Street (from Tan Binh District to District 12, Ho Chi Minh City), you can count more than a dozen stalls and fruit stands selling red grapes from China. Not only stalls, markets, but also mobile fruit carts are very fond of this type of grape. The price of Chinese red grapes when sold on the market is also very "huge" at 90,000-100,000 VND/kg, while American black grapes (original grapes) cost 170,000 VND/kg.
At Tan Dinh market, stalls all set the price of "American red grapes" at 100,000 VND/kg, and American black grapes at 160,000 VND/kg. Mr. Ngo Quoc Tuan (Tran Quang Khai street, Tan Dinh ward, District 1) said: "I know it's American red grapes when I hear the seller say it's American red grapes, but I don't know the origin."
Mr. Khanh Toan, owner of a long-standing fruit stall on Hai Ba Trung Street (District 1), said that this is not the main season for American grapes, so imported goods are scarce. The price of American grapes is currently at 900,000-1,200,000 VND/box depending on the quality and taken right at the wholesale market, equivalent to 100,000-120,000 VND/kg. After importing the goods, retailers sell them separately, excluding transportation costs and damaged goods that must be discarded. The price of genuine American grapes is 160,000-170,000 VND/kg.
While Chinese grapes disguised as American grapes are sold at wholesale markets for 25,000-37,000 VND/kg, after reaching retail markets, the price has increased to about 90,000-100,000 VND/kg. Therefore, it is impossible that American grapes are imported in large quantities but the price is only 90,000-100,000 VND/kg as advertised in many places in Ho Chi Minh City.
Mr. Toan added that currently, American grapes imported into Vietnam are stored in boxes with stamps, labels, and clear origins. Chinese red grapes usually have large, round, dark red fruits while American grapes are black, small, and long, and can be kept fresh longer.
According to TTO-M
