Chinese melons labeled as Da Lat

More than 2,000 tons of melons were imported from China in June, and most of them were labeled as Da Lat and other localities to be sold at cheap prices in Ho Chi Minh City.

On Nguyen Van Thinh Street (District 2), yellow melons labeled as being from Da Lat are sold for 22,000 VND per kilogram. The seller insists that these products are brought down from Da Lat and are guaranteed to be delicious and sweet. "This year's harvest is good, so the price is cheap, otherwise it would be 30,000-35,000 VND per kilogram," said the owner of the cart.

Chinese melons are packed in foam boxes imported into Vietnam. Photo: CL.

On Dien Bien Phu Street (Binh Thanh District), carts sell for 4,000 VND cheaper per kilogram, and customers can also buy half a fruit as they wish. Mr. Hung, the cart owner, said that this yellow melon looks like a Hoang Kim melon, but in fact they are completely different. Because the fruit is long and oval, not round like Hoang Kim. Inside the melon is orange-yellow, each fruit weighs an average of 3 kg or more, and can be kept for 1-2 weeks if not cut open and stored in a cool place.

“I sell nearly 200 kg every day, and the evening is when many customers come to buy. If customers buy in large quantities, I can reduce the price by 3,000 VND per kg,” said Mr. Hung, adding that in addition to selling to retail customers, he also delivers to smoothie shops and coffee shops that favor this product because of its rich sweetness and low price.

Besides the carts selling cantaloupes labeled as Da Lat and Saigon, at traditional markets, many vendors attribute this type of melon to its origin in Ben Tre, Cu Chi, and Tay Ninh. The price of the product at the markets changes depending on the time, in the morning it is sold for 25,000 VND per kg, but in the afternoon it can drop to 18,000 VND.

While many cart owners and traders claim that the oval-shaped, yellow melons come from some localities in the country, the owner of a fruit stall at Thi Nghe market (Binh Thanh) said that most of these products come from China because the fruit is long and large.

“Every day I buy a quintal, when customers ask I always introduce it as Chinese goods. Because I buy the goods at the wholesale market, the price is only a little over ten thousand dong per kilogram, and I sell it for 19,000 dong. I have been selling this type for 2 years now,” said Ms. Hoa, a trader at Thi Nghe market.

Explaining the change in origin, some traders said that because recently consumers have been "boycotting" Chinese goods, imported products are difficult to sell, so they have to "draw" many different origins.

Vietnamese melons are round and weigh much less than Chinese products. Photo: CL.

As a person who grows high-tech melons in Tay Ninh, Ms. Van Thi Cam Le said that last year, Chinese products also flooded into Vietnam with cheap prices and a very sweet taste. However, this year, the products are somewhat different from the previous crop in that they have a lighter taste, causing consumers to mistake them for local products. In particular, these products are sold at cheap prices and labeled as Vietnamese, causing many melon farmers to face difficulties. Because it is not easy to grow cheap products. "In my garden, melons are sold for 25,000-30,000 VND per kg, so only China has products under 25,000 VND," Ms. Le said.

This garden owner added that right after the news of Chinese goods flooding the market, she directly surveyed some areas in the Southern region and also the import units and found that some places were selling for less than 20,000 VND per kilogram. Chinese melons are mostly old yellow in color, mainly transported from Xinjiang to Vietnam, taking 8-9 days but still maintaining their firmness. Most sellers remove the Chinese stamps on the fruit, making it difficult for consumers to distinguish. Even restaurants and eateries mistakenly buy this type.

“Recently, I reported to 2-3 restaurants that used this cheap product. When they received the notification, they were shocked to find out that they had bought the wrong product because the design was quite nice and the price was cheap,” Ms. Le added.

Mr. Lai The Hung - Head of the Plant Protection Department of Lam Dong province said that farmers and businesses in Da Lat have only developed and cultivated melons since 2014, so there is no way to sell them in large quantities and at low prices like above.

“Even some businesses that have just started growing melons this year told us that they already have outlets from supermarkets. Some other households harvest and sell on the spot for 30,000-50,000 VND per kilogram, not at all as cheap as above. Perhaps because they know that Da Lat grows melons, many small traders have chosen the Da Lat brand to label for easy consumption,” Mr. Hung said.

Statistics from the Plant Protection Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development show that in 2014, Vietnam imported 7,200 tons of cantaloupe through Tan Thanh border gate (Lang Son). In June this year alone, the amount of this fruit through the border gate was 2,100 tons. In recent weeks, there have been times when it has reached 60 tons a day.

At Thu Duc agricultural wholesale market, this product has been continuously pouring into the market for over a month now. A representative of this market said that at the end of June, the goods arrived in large quantities, however, up to now, there have been signs of slowing down because consumption is decreasing.

According to Vnexpress.net