During peak season, pomelos are scarce, and some varieties cost twice as much.

A month ago, Ms. Ha Thi Chau from Dinh Cong (Hoang Mai, Hanoi) bought green pomelos for only 25,000 VND per fruit, each weighing 1.2-1.3 kg. At that time, she bought a bag of 20 fruits at a store near her house to eat gradually.

The pomelos she had bought ran out three days ago, so she came to buy another bag. When the store told her the price, she was shocked because the same weight of pomelos had increased to 55,000 VND per fruit, double the previous price.

"Twenty pomelos cost 1.1 million dong. This specialty fruit is no longer cheap; it's become expensive," she said. But in return, the pomelos she bought this time were all very ripe, which would taste better.

Speaking to a reporter, Ms. Nguyen Thi Luyen, manager of a fruit store in Dong Da (Hanoi), acknowledged that the price of green pomelos has increased sharply recently. For example, the batch of green pomelos that arrived yesterday included two types: the VIP size, weighing 1.3-1.5 kg/fruit, priced at 70,000 VND/fruit, and the 1-1.2 kg size priced at 55,000 VND/fruit.

According to her, the price of green pomelo depends on the weight of the fruit. However, in the past, for a long time, the price of this specialty fruit was low. Even at the beginning of this year, the price of green pomelo fluctuated between 19,000-29,000 VND/fruit, and even VIP quality pomelos meeting export standards only cost 30,000-35,000 VND/fruit.

The price of green-skinned pomelos has doubled compared to the beginning of this year. Photo: Tam An

According to the law of supply and demand, when supply is scarce, businesses buy up large quantities for export, causing prices to skyrocket. She said that at the beginning of this year, each shipment of pomelos contained up to a thousand boxes (each box with 12-13 fruits depending on size), but now they can only import 200-300 boxes per shipment.

"The price of pomelos is high, and fewer customers are ordering them. Instead of buying whole boxes like before, most customers now only order 2-5 fruits," she said.

According to Ms. Le Thanh Thuy from Bach Mai (Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi), who has been selling goods online for 4 years, this is the time when green pomelos are at their most expensive.

This type of pomelo is available almost year-round, but in recent years the price has been relatively cheap, ranging from 30,000-35,000 VND per fruit, with the most expensive only costing 45,000-50,000 VND per fruit weighing 1.2-1.4 kg. However, for almost a week now, the price of green-skinned pomelos weighing that weight has skyrocketed to 75,000 VND per fruit, she shared.

At the end of February this year, on the market, stores were selling green pomelos weighing 0.9-1 kg/fruit for 16,000-19,000 VND/fruit, and pomelos weighing 1.1-1.5 kg/fruit for 30,000-40,000 VND/fruit. Currently, the prices for these sizes are 35,000 VND/fruit and 55,000-75,000 VND/fruit respectively.

According to information from the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), the total pomelo production (green-skinned pomelo, Nam Roi pomelo, Dien pomelo, etc.) in 2023 is estimated at approximately 1.1 million tons. However, the second quarter is the period with the lowest pomelo production of the year, at only about 90,000 tons. The majority of pomelos are concentrated in the southern region; growing areas in the North yield almost no harvest during this season.

Chart: Vietnamnet

According to a pomelo exporting company, the pomelo harvest in the second quarter was significantly lower than in the other quarters of the year. Meanwhile, pomelo exports to other markets such as the US and China are very favorable at this time, leading to a sharp increase in the price of green-skinned pomelos.

"Green-skinned pomelos have always been relatively expensive compared to other types of pomelos grown in Vietnam. However, due to export difficulties and market gluts, prices have dropped. Since the end of March, pomelo prices have gradually recovered to pre-Covid-19 levels," the representative said.

At the end of 2022, a shipment of 40 tons of Vietnamese green pomelo was officially exported to the United States. Ms. Ngo Tuong Vy, General Director of Chanh Thu Fruit Export Group JSC, stated that Vietnamese green pomelo is sold in stores and supermarkets in various states across the US. The price of green pomelo is listed at $15-22 USD/kg, equivalent to VND 375,000-535,000 VND/kg.

Green-skinned pomelos exported to the US weigh between 1 and 1.7 kg per fruit, with prices ranging from 375,000 to 900,000 VND per fruit, depending on the variety. Since then, the amount of pomelos exported to this market has been quite consistent, Ms. Vy said.