Chinese cherries disguised as American and Canadian are sold at high prices.

Although the cherry is the same type, each place sells it at a different price, in some places it is nearly 650,000 VND/kg, in others it is only over 430,000 VND/kg. However, according to foreign fruit traders, the price of cherry after completing all procedures to Vietnam is not less than 500,000 VND/kg, if it is cheaper, it is probably Chinese cherry.

Mr. Nguyen Hai, owner of an imported fruit business in Ho Chi Minh City, shared: "I also searched for cheaper sources but could not find any source with a wholesale price cheaper than 380,000 VND/kg. To know how many import sources there are, it is easy, just ask the airport customs and you will know right away."

"So why are there places selling for 400,000 VND/kg? Even below 300,000 VND/kg? Do you think there is any seller who sells 1 kg of cherry for 400,000 VND to only make a profit of 20,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, they have to bear so many risks in buying, selling and preserving, not to mention delivery costs and because of the high price of cherry, they have to reduce capital to get the goods," Mr. Hai questioned.

Cheap cherries in many stores

This guy revealed that the price of cherries in the US is quite cheap, only about 9 USD - 10 USD/kg. However, if the cherries in the supermarket are displayed for a long time, the supermarket there will reduce the price to only 3 USD/kg. Vietnamese people will import this type of cherry to have a cheaper price. However, the cherries are displayed for a long time so they wilt, when imported, the seller immediately dips them in preservatives. So they are fresh and delicious right away.

According to a trader, a box of 8 kg of Chinese cherries currently costs 1.5 million VND, with the same imported packaging as the US. The seller also photocopied the US Bill (Bill of Lading (B/L) - shipping invoice in import and export) to show to customers. Thus, the import price for 1 kg is only 200,000 - 300,000 VND.

A foreign fruit wholesaler in Hanoi also said that foreign fruits are usually imported through 3 channels: official import; hand-carried goods and goods of unknown origin... Expensive fruits such as cherries, kiwis... are the most commonly counterfeited.

Three-free cherries: no packaging, no label, no origin and no expiry date

According to a reporter’s survey, in Hanoi there are currently many places importing and selling American and Canadian cherries, mainly large specialty stores, supermarkets, and small shops on the street. The price of cherries also varies greatly.

Offering a sample of unlabeled, unstamped cherry with a selling price of 439,000 VND/kg (while another large foreign fruit system with the same type has a price of 649,000 VND/kg, even 800,000 VND/kg for special types), the owner of a fruit shop on Cau Giay street explained: The cherry we import has a good price source, so we sell it to regular and new customers, so the price is cheaper than the market price.

However, according to the reporter's observation, the cherry sample above looks quite dark, the packaging also does not have a barcode, origin, import date and expiration date. The packaging containing the cherry is simply a thin plastic box with a listed price.

Cherries on the market are currently sold at different prices, consumers are being placed in a matrix of price and quality.

A fruit trader said: "Chinese cherries look big and shiny, not much different from imported cherries from the US or Canada. In particular, Chinese cherries are soaked in preservatives so they can be kept for a long time in cold conditions and still stay fresh without falling off their stems."

"Importing Chinese cherries is not difficult. Just contact a few traders at Long Bien market and you will have the goods the next day, in original boxes and packages. The price of cherries during holidays and Tet is nearly 1 million VND/kg, many stores do not have them to sell because American cherries are out of season, so importing goods from China is normal. Currently, although the tax on imported cherries to Vietnam is reduced, the quarantine and transportation fees are also very high, so if the source of goods is suddenly cheap compared to the market price, consumers should be careful," this person said.

A type of cherry is priced at 650,000 VND/kg, a high price compared to the market price, but no one is sure where these products come from.

According to Ms. Hanh, who used to live and work in Guangzhou (China): Cherries in China are very cheap, converted to Vietnamese currency only 185,000 - 230,000 VND/kg.

Although not 100% of the stores selling cheap cherries are from China, the low price means that consumers should be careful to trace the origin. Therefore, to avoid buying bad quality products, consumers need to ask the store to present import certificates, quarantine documents, and certifications from competent authorities in Vietnam.

According to Dan Tri