Confusing origin and quality of imported fruits

Fruits of unknown origin make consumers confused and doubtful about quality and price.

Recently, many consumers have been confused by the news that Chinese fruits have flooded the Vietnamese market, then been labeled as imported fruits from Western countries for sale.

At some stores specializing in imported fruits and supermarkets such as Fivimart, Big C..., imported fruits are mainly sourced from Australia, New Zealand, the US, South Africa, Chile... Currently, seedless grapes from the US cost 279,000 VND/kg; New Zealand Envy apples cost 249,000 VND/kg, Kiwi 249,000 VND/kg... The prices of fruits here are higher so consumers rarely buy them for their own use, but mainly buy them as gifts.

However, at Long Bien market - the largest fruit wholesale market in Hanoi, the prices of imported fruits are surprisingly cheap. For example, a 5kg box of Envy apples here is only 600,000 VND/box; a 14kg box of Australian red oranges is only 800,000 VND/box, and American grapes are 1.5 million VND/10kg box.

What is worth mentioning is that the fruits are labeled as imported but are taken from large boxes with Chinese characters on the outside. After being brought to the market, the goods will be distributed throughout the city, with boxes, stamps and import labels that cannot be distinguished.

Fake labeled Chinese apples (left photo) and genuine imported apples (right photo).

A fruit seller at Long Bien market said that, except for some typical fruits such as Kiwi from New Zealand, “paradise” pear from Australia..., the majority of fruits here such as grapes, apples, plums... are mostly from China.

“The fruits like grapes they are drying are Chinese goods. Those apple boxes with Chinese characters are Chinese sugar apples. Chinese cherries are only available during Tet, and they are packed in plastic bags…”, this person said.

Ms. Tran Thanh Nga, from Hoan Kiem district, went to buy fruit at Long Bien market and said that when she went to buy goods at this wholesale market, she saw that most of the fruit items were Chinese. According to what she saw, the fruit boxes for sale all had Chinese characters on them.

“It is possible to buy genuine Vietnamese or imported goods, but it is very difficult to distinguish between Chinese goods, imported goods and Vietnamese goods. For example, when buying a cantaloupe, if you ask if it is Chinese or Vietnamese, the seller will say it is Vietnamese but the box is full of Chinese characters,” said Ms. Nga.

If a few years ago, imported fruits were only sold in supermarkets and stores at very expensive prices, now they are sold in flea markets and even by street vendors.

Not only that, imported fruits are also advertised by many online sellers as hand-carried goods at prices cheaper than the market, such as cherries for only over 300,000 VND/kg, black grapes for only 195,000 VND/kg, Australian oranges for only 77,000 VND/kg, while the quality and true origin of these fruits are not really clear. It is the sudden, massive appearance at low prices that makes consumers always doubt the quality of imported fruits today.

Mr. Tran Viet Hung, in Hai Ba Trung district, said that cheap street fruit vendors are usually Chinese products of poor quality, meticulously treated with chemicals so they can be kept for a long time and look very shiny on the outside.

“Once when I was shopping on the street, I asked the vendor why these fruits were so expensive but sold at such low prices here. They replied that these were the products they got from large stores that had surplus and were not sold yet, and were liquidated for them so they could sell at low prices. They have many reasons to please consumers,” said Mr. Hung.

Ms. Vu Thu Huong, in Dong Da district, shared that she also heard information on social networking sites like Facebook... about many types of fruits originating from China but labeled as being from countries that are very reputable for fruit import and export such as the US...

“I am also more careful in choosing fruits these days, because it is very difficult to distinguish between genuine imported fruits and fake Chinese fruits. I hope that the media can inform more people in a more general way so that people can better understand how to recognize fruits,” said Ms. Huong.

Considered one of the major fruit suppliers in Southeast Asia, many types of Vietnamese fruit have been exported abroad. However, the fact that we import a large amount of foreign fruits, including those that Vietnam still exports in large quantities, such as watermelon, mango... has caused confusion in the supply market for these products.

Consumers are concerned because they cannot distinguish between Chinese fruits with fake labels imported from the West and real imported fruits. This is a reality that requires the authorities to step in and consider and come up with appropriate management measures./.

According to vov