Hot weather, cooling foods are in high demand

(Baonghean) - The hot weather in recent days has not only disrupted people's lives and activities, but also changed their eating habits and needs according to the weather. The demand for meat and fish in the markets has decreased sharply, while cooling foods are very popular....

Sidewalk goods are expensive, market goods are slow to sell.

These days, walking around the city early in the morning, on some streets such as Phung Chi Kien (in front of the gate of the College of Culture and Arts), Herman Street, Ngo Gia Tu Street... sidewalk food stalls are quite crowded with buyers. The hot weather makes housewives change their shopping habits. Ms. Phan Thi Luong (Quan Bau Ward, Vinh City) said: In this hot weather, I take advantage of going to the alley entrance to buy breakfast combined with buying meat and vegetables at street vendors, which is both convenient and avoids the sun.

Flowers and fruits are in high demand on hot days.

On hot days, roadside food stalls are also the choice of many housewives. Stopping in front of a fish stall on Tan Yen Street to buy food for lunch, Ms. Nguyen Minh Thuy (Hung Binh Ward) said: “On the way to work, I stopped to buy food, because it was too hot at noon. Secondly, the road has to be covered up, it is very difficult to go to the market…”.

With the advantage of convenience and no long waiting time, food stalls on the sidewalk are very popular. Meanwhile, the food stalls of small traders in the market are deserted. At around 10:30 am, arriving at Quan Lau market, the pork stalls are lined up in long rows but there are no buyers. The vendors complain: “It’s very deserted. From morning until now, there have only been five or seven customers. It’s too sunny so people don’t eat much meat…” Not only family customers but restaurants have also reduced meat consumption. Normally, Ms. Dung sells nearly 50 kg of meat to cheap restaurants every day, but for nearly a week now, the quantity has only decreased by half.

At around 11am, arriving at the Quyet market fresh food area (Ben Thuy ward), the shops were deserted, with no buyers. A vendor named Yen said: “Since the beginning of the year, this is the slowest time. Although the price of pork and beef is still stable (pork price is still at 75 - 90 thousand VND/kg depending on the type; beef still fluctuates at 240 - 250 thousand VND/kg), there are no buyers”…

Popular cooling foods

During these hot days, foods such as vegetables, fruits, passion fruit, sugarcane, melon, watermelon, and pineapple are consumed quite strongly. Ms. An, who specializes in selling fruits in the Ga market area, said that on average she sells nearly 300 kg of watermelon per day, one and a half times more than usual. Due to the increased demand, the prices of these items have increased slightly, the price of watermelon has increased by about 1,000 VND/kg, currently priced at 6,000 VND/kg, pineapple has increased by about 2,000 VND, currently priced at 10,000 VND/kg.

At Vinh market, these days, the best-selling fruits are still coconut, fresh lemon and watermelon. Ms. Tam, a wholesale coconut importer at Vinh market, said that on normal days she imports a truckload of coconuts and has to sell them in nearly a week, but this time it was sold out in just 3-4 days; the current average price of fresh coconuts is 25-30 thousand VND/fruit, double that of more than a month ago; the price of fresh lemons is currently fluctuating from 35-40 thousand VND/kg; passion fruit is at 25-30 thousand VND/kg...

According to forecasts, the heat wave will continue in the coming days. People's lives continue to be disrupted. The heat wave not only changes people's living and eating habits but also leads to the risk of food safety. Meat, fish, vegetables, and fruits sold on the streets and sidewalks are currently not controlled in terms of origin but are being consumed strongly. The habit of buying wherever is convenient, invisibly supporting the situation of encroachment on sidewalks and roadsides that is common in Vinh City.

Dinh Nguyet