Many "unique, strange" fruits are ready to be displayed on Tet shelves

Unique, strange, beautiful and appealing to religious beliefs are the special features that make products that can be both displayed and eaten during Tet attract the attention of the market in recent days.

Buddha's hand grapefruit officially launched on the market

Cat Tuong grapefruit combines 4 "houses"

Grapefruits shaped like clasped hands (Cat Tuong grapefruit, Buddha's hand grapefruit are expected to compete with Buddha's hand grapefruit) are a new product for the 2015 Lunar New Year season that has just been launched by a company in Hanoi. This company has spent more than 2 years researching new designs and plans to launch 1,000-3,000 fruits starting from February 4 through its dealer system.

Since the beginning of this year, the company has imported raw materials for the molds from abroad, processed them in Hanoi, then shipped them to Can Tho and distributed them to raw material areas in Hau Giang, Vinh Long, Tra On, and Soc Trang. The Nam Roi grapefruit trees, about 3 years old and grown in the provinces of the Mekong Delta, were selected as raw materials. After 6 months of changing the shell many times with different materials, the grapefruit took the desired shape. This grapefruit growing model is a combination of 4 parties: the State, scientists, businesses and farmers. The company provides input materials, farmers cultivate in their gardens, and then all products are purchased.

After shaping, each grapefruit is released to the market for a maximum of 8 weeks (at room temperature) while still ensuring quality, the grapefruit pulp can be eaten. According to information published by the unit directly growing and distributing the product, each grapefruit costs 600,000 VND. On the occasion of the At Mui New Year, the production unit released the product in small quantities only to evaluate the quality of the final test and at the same time select fruits that meet the standards to offer to pagodas, communal houses, and temples. In July 2015, the company will mass produce with an output of over 200,000 products, depending on the market's consumption capacity.

From a nutritious dish, thanks to its red color and meaningful shape, red radish has become an ornamental plant symbolizing fulfillment, luck and is priced at hundreds of thousands of dong.

As early as December 2014, the red radishes displayed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hien (Long Bien, Hanoi) for Tet began to attract customers. Worried about importing early and fearing that there would be unsold products, Ms. Hien only dared to wholesale more than a dozen boxes of single radishes (12 radishes/box) in the first batch, but after nearly a week, the wholesale and retail sources had bought out all the goods, forcing her to hastily order the next batch.

A survey at Hoang Hoa Tham ornamental plant street (Ba Dinh, Hanoi) showed that this type of plant, which can be both eaten and played with, has many different prices, depending on its unique shape, the size of each root, or whether it is a single or double pot. Mr. Nguyen Quang, the owner of an ornamental plant shop at the beginning of the street, said that compared to last year, this year's red radishes are much larger in size, have a brighter red color, are more shiny, and the bunches of leaves on the roots are also more carefully trimmed, so they are still attractive to buyers.

“Customers often like colors that symbolize warmth and luck such as red or yellow and shapes that symbolize fullness and abundance such as circles and squares. Although red radishes are not too expensive, about 200,000 - 300,000 VND/single root, many families with conditions still order them to make feng shui pots to display on Tet,” Mr. Quang shared.

Ms. Nguyen Hien Nhu, a customer who came to buy plants, said that last year, her family displayed the radish. This year, seeing many friends complimenting the red radish for its beauty and lucky color, she bought 2 pots early to display in the house and give to her parents. “Usually, I only see red radish sold in the market, boiled and very sweet, or pickled and also delicious. I didn’t think people could grow this type of root and grow it to such a large size. I wonder if it can be processed into food after Tet?”, Ms. Nhu wondered.

According to research, at some garden addresses, in fact, red radish is a food crop grown in cold climates, with high nutritional value. However, to ensure the best nutritional quality, growers should harvest when the root is just large, about 1 month from sowing. For ornamental purposes, growers can grow radishes for a longer period of time, actively fertilizing and pruning the leaves until the radish reaches its largest size.

“Radishes grown for ornamental purposes cannot be processed into food because in terms of nutritional content alone, overripe radishes have become fibrous, their nutrients have been transformed, and they can no longer be eaten,” explained a lecturer at Hanoi University of Agriculture.

Red radish symbolizes abundance.

Mini dragon fruit makes customers fascinated

Many provinces, especially the southern provinces, are currently favoring mini dragon fruit trees for Tet. Each pot costs 90,000 - 100,000 VND. A trader in Hanoi said he imported 70 pots in early December 2014 and sold them all within 3 weeks. The tree is grown in a pot, only about 20 - 30cm high, has a light green trunk, small leaves, no flowers and is easy to care for. The tree is trimmed into many different cute shapes such as spheres, five-pointed stars, hearts, bear faces, coins, rainbows... so it is very popular with young people. Players only need to water it once a week and do not have to fertilize or trim it.

Mini dragon fruit tree

According to Ms. Lan, a seller of this plant in Me Tri Ha (Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi), ornamental dragon fruit is an easy-to-grow plant, does not crave water and can adapt very well in cold rooms. Therefore, in addition to connoisseurs and teenage customers, office workers also order a lot.

Mr. Cuong (Hoai Duc, Hanoi) also bought a star-shaped plant to place on his desk at the company to welcome the new year. Due to the nature of his IT (computer engineer) work, Mr. Cuong has to spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen. Placing a small green plant on his desk helps his eyes feel comfortable and it also has the effect of purifying the air.

Foreign goods sell well

Peonies (large size), American apricot blossoms (70cm long), and Red Dong peach blossoms (European origin) are also distributed quite a lot by stores at the end of this year. Specifically, the price of each pink peony is up to 400,000 VND (single flower) and over 600,000 VND (if creating a bouquet). American apricot blossoms cost 200,000 VND/branch, while Red Dong peach blossoms from Europe cost from 400,000-800,000 VND/branch.

According to the owner of an imported flower shop in Le Chan district, Hai Phong, these flowers are imported from cold climate areas and are a substitute for peach blossoms or rosebuds during Tet. “Three years ago, not many people liked to display Dong Do peach blossoms in their homes during Tet, and this type of flower was only used as an accessory in Christmas bouquets. However, with the shape of ripe fruit, sharp red color, and the ability to stay fresh in the Northern climate for 3-4 weeks, it has gradually become more popular with customers.”

In addition to traditional plants, many families also buy miniature watermelons to display during Tet. Miniature watermelons have many different names such as Pepquino, Mexican watermelon. This is a fruit that not only has a pleasing shape but also has an attractive taste, loved by consumers in many countries around the world such as the Netherlands, England, America... In the UK and America markets, in addition to being used as an ornamental plant, this fruit is also processed into an attractive salad. However, because the selling price is very expensive, nearly 65 USD (about 1,370,000 VND)/box/1 kg of about 200 fruits, many customers choose to buy seeds to plant for ornamental purposes and to eat all year round./.

According to VOV