How to distinguish Vietnamese plums and Chinese plums

During the season, every year, thousands of tons of Chinese plums are imported through Lang Son and Lao Cai border gates to Vietnam. However, these Chinese plums always appear under the label "Sapa plums".or “Vietnamese plum”. So, how to distinguish Chinese plum from Vietnamese plum?

Tam Toa plum, Hau plum: Exclusive to Vietnam

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Van - who has 20 years of experience in fruit trading and is a wholesaler specializing in exporting Vietnamese and Chinese plums at Long Bien wholesale market (Hanoi), there are dozens of types of plums sold at the wholesale market and then distributed to retail markets or street vendors for sale on the streets.

However, if you do not like to buy Chinese fruits, you can rest assured to buy Tam Hoa plum or Hau plum. Because these two plums are exclusive to Vietnam, currently only grown in Vietnam, not in other countries.

Plum, Tam Hoa plum, specialty only available in Vietnam

Ms. Van said that Tam Hoa plum and Hau plum are mainly grown in Moc Chau (Son La) and Bac Ha (Lao Cai) regions. When these two types of plums are ripe, the skin of the plums will have white spots mixed with red. Biting the plum in half will reveal a deep purple-red color inside. When eaten crispy, the ripe fruit has a sweet taste mixed with a cool sour taste.

Early season plums retail at 150,000-200,000 VND/kg, mid-season plums are only 25,000-60,000 VND/kg depending on the type, by the end of the season plum prices will increase by another 10,000-20,000 VND/kg compared to mid-season.

Giant black plums only found in China

Ms. Van also said that every August and September, the market will see a type of black plum with purple color, the fruit is as big as a human fist (3-4 times bigger than a Tam Hoa plum), the inside of the plum is yellow, juicy, soft and sweet. This type is often advertised as Sapa plum by fruit vendors on the streets. But, in fact, this type of plum is imported from China.

According to Ms. Van, in Vietnam there is also a type of black plum, but the fruit is only as small as the three-flower plum, and the yield is not much.

Giant black plum, fruit as big as a human fist, is 100% Chinese plum

Vietnamese black plum has small fruit similar to tam hoa plum.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lao Cai province also confirmed that in Lao Cai there is a type of black plum but the fruit is small, the plum season ends around July.

Chinese plums are easily labeled as Vietnamese plums.

After the Tam Hoa plum season, the sweet rice plum will cover all markets in Hanoi. The price of this sweet rice plum is 25,000-40,000 VND/kg depending on the size.

This type of plum has a green skin, when ripe the skin will be slightly yellow, sometimes with red plum spots, crunchy, sweet, when biting the plum in half, the seed will separate, so it is very popular to buy.

After Vietnam's three-flower plum season, Chinese sugar plums are flooding Vietnamese markets.

In the market, sellers still advertise this type of sugar plum as Vietnamese sugar plum. However, Vietnamese sugar plums are usually available at the beginning of the season, before the Tam Hoa plum season. They are mainly grown in Lang Son. The plums have a sour, astringent, and crunchy taste. Meanwhile, Chinese sugar plums are available after the Tam Hoa plum season ends (starting around June every year).

Vietnamese rice plums appear early, even before the harvest time of the three-flower plums.

Chinese sugar plums are also often labeled as Ta Hoang Y plums in Bac Ha, but Ta Hoang Y plums are one and a half times bigger than Chinese sugar plums.

Ms. Van also added that traders often equate Chinese sugar plums with Ta Hoang Y plums in Bac Ha (Loi Cai). However, Ta Hoang Y plums are quite famous for their deliciousness, crunchiness, and sweetness. Compared to Chinese sugar plums, Ta Hoang Y plums are one and a half times larger, even larger than Tam Hoa plums. Buyers can look at the size to distinguish this plum from Chinese sugar plums.

According to Vietnamnet