Early summer heat in Nghe An makes cooling fruits sell like hotcakes.

The morning at Quan Lau market (Truong Thi ward, Vinh City) is bustling with activity. Especially at the fruit stalls, with their vibrant red plums, deep purple mulberries, lush green coconuts, and bright yellow pineapples… Buyers throng the stalls, while sellers nimbly weigh, bag, and enthusiastically greet customers. Although summer has only just begun, the market for refreshing fruits has already entered its "hot season."

At the fruit stall of Ms. Dau Thi Hien – a vendor with over 10 years of experience at Quan Lau market – baskets of fresh mulberries are stacked high since early morning. Each mulberry is plump, reddish-purple, and still has a green stem attached. Ms. Hien quickly said while weighing the mulberries for a customer: "These mulberries are grown in Nghi Duc and Nghi An."

"The locals pick them early in the morning and bring them to the market immediately, so the fruit is always fresh. People love mulberries these days. They buy them to eat raw, make syrup, or soak them in sugar to make a refreshing drink. Every day I sell 50-70 kg, at 35,000-40,000 VND/kg, an increase of 10,000 VND compared to the beginning of the season, but I still can't keep up with demand."

According to Ms. Hien, mulberries have a short harvest season, lasting only 1.5 to 2 months, and their cooling properties and pleasant sweet and sour taste make them a highly sought-after fruit at the beginning of summer. Despite the price increase, strong demand has led many small traders to prioritize importing mulberries instead of other imported fruits as before.

Besides strawberries, other fruits that can be preserved in syrup, such as apricots and plums, are also in season. At Vinh market, apricots range from 30,000 to 35,000 VND/kg, and late-season plums from 120,000 to 140,000 VND/kg – prices that are not exactly "affordable," yet they still attract many customers. Mr. Le Van Khoa, the owner of a fruit store on Nguyen Trung Ngan street, shared: "Early-season plums are quite expensive, up to 140,000 VND/kg, but many people still choose to buy them. On peak days, I sell 30-40 kg of plums."

At this time of year, pineapples, a quintessential summer fruit, are also in high demand. Pineapples are not only eaten raw, but also juiced, used in sour soups, and candied. The price of pineapples at local markets currently ranges from 10,000 to 12,000 VND per kilogram, or about 8,000 to 10,000 VND per fruit. This price has remained almost unchanged compared to the end of last year, even though it is currently peak harvest season.

The reason is high market demand, hence the high price. “Every day I import about 1,000 pineapples from Quynh Luu to Vinh. They sell very well. Drink vendors buy them to make pineapple juice with ice or sell pineapple in syrup, which is very popular. On sunny days, refreshing fruits become a top choice,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong, owner of a pineapple wholesale business at Vinh wholesale market.

One of the items selling like hotcakes these days is fresh coconut. Siamese coconuts are retailing for 17,000-18,000 VND/each, an increase of 3,000-5,000 VND/each, while green coconuts are 25,000-30,000 VND/each, an increase of 5,000 VND/each. Coconut stalls on Nguyen Canh Chan, Truong Chinh, and Quang Trung streets (Vinh City) are always packed with customers.

"Ready-to-drink coconut water, no mixing required, no added sugar, good for the liver, diuretic, suitable for both children and the elderly, so it's selling very well. I import several hundred coconuts every day, selling retail and wholesale to restaurants and shops, and I don't even have enough to sell online anymore," said a small trader on Quang Trung Street.

At the beginning of the season, watermelons are expensive but still quite popular. Because watermelon-growing areas in Nghe An province such as Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Nam Dan, Nghia Dan, etc., haven't started harvesting yet, traders have to import goods from the South, resulting in high prices ranging from 25,000 to 30,000 VND/kg. A 3-4kg watermelon can cost nearly 100,000 VND, but many people are still willing to pay to have this juicy, easy-to-eat fruit in their daily cooling menu.

In contrast to the high demand for other fruits, mandarin oranges are quite affordable, priced at only 8,000-10,000 VND/kg, nearly half the price of last year, making them a popular choice. Ms. Nguyen Tuyet Mai, a customer, said: “Mandarin oranges and tangerines from Phu Quoc are cheap now, perfect for making refreshing juice. On average, I buy 10kg of mandarin oranges each week to make juice for the whole family, supplementing vitamin C and boosting immunity during the early hot season.”

According to small traders, the prolonged hot season this year, due to the leap year, has led to a surge in demand for cooling and refreshing foods. These cooling fruits are not only consumer goods but also used as gifts, bottled, and sold online. Numerous households and small businesses in strawberry, sugarcane, and pineapple growing regions are taking advantage of the summer to increase their income through artisanal processing such as making syrups, jams, and bottled juices.

"The market for refreshing fruits this year is expected to increase sharply in May and June as summer truly arrives. This is a positive sign for fruit farmers and also an opportunity for many startups to develop on-site processing from fruit juices," commented an official from the Department of Agriculture and Environment of Vinh City.