Chaos of single black garlic labeled Ly Son

To attract customers, many shops selling single black garlic use ingredients from Phu Yen, Son La, and even China to produce, but label them as Ly Son.

TLy Son black garlic is a very popular product, especially with single-clove black garlic (also known as single-clove black garlic, orphan garlic) in Ly Son island district (Quang Ngai), which is even more attractive and expensive, so many business owners, in order to sell their products, have labeled them as this regional brand even though the raw materials come from many different places.

At a store specializing in selling exotic products in Cu Chi (HCMC), a 500-gram box of black garlic costs only VND550,000. This store also advertises that this is Ly Son single black garlic, 100% naturally fermented, no additives, no preservatives, no food coloring. If customers buy in bulk, the store will reduce the price by VND10,000 - 20,000 per kilogram. Explaining the reason for the low price, the store owner said it was thanks to getting cheap raw material prices.

Besides selling single-clove black garlic labeled Ly Son, this store also sells multi-clove black garlic for 450,000 VND per kilogram, with free delivery.

Black garlic market chaos. Illustration photo

Also selling single black garlic at a fairly cheap price, at a black garlic store in District 10 (HCMC), the price of 100 grams of single black garlic is 210,000 VND. If you buy in large quantities, this store will also reduce the price depending on the order. Each month, the store can supply several dozen kilograms of black garlic if customers buy wholesale and guarantees 100% genuine Ly Son black garlic.

When asked why there was such a large quantity, the shop owner said that they collect a large quantity each season so they have stock. However, in reality, the quantity of Ly Son single garlic harvested each year is not much.

Labeling Ly Son garlic and selling it for VND1 million per kilogram, the owner of a black garlic shop in Ha Dong (Hanoi) said that he can supply the market with 40-50 kilograms each month. When asked to buy in bulk, the shop owner revealed that most of the goods are garlic from Son La and Phu Yen, and Ly Son garlic is very rare. If more than 10 kilograms are purchased, the shop will reduce the price to VND900,000 per kilogram.

In addition to the above establishments, on online shopping sites, black garlic labeled Ly Son is also being sold at a price of 100,000-200,000 VND per tael. Most people claim that it is fermented from Ly Son garlic.

As a facility specializing in supplying Ly Son black garlic (Quang Ngai), Mr. Luong The Cuong, owner of Tobe black garlic facility, said that because the Ly Son black garlic brand is so famous, many businesses are currently abusing it to advertise to buyers, but the origin is often unclear and the quality is not guaranteed. Because the source of Ly Son single black garlic is rare and the price is high, many units have used garlic from China, Phu Yen, Phan Rang and labeled it as Ly Son to make it easier to sell.

“At my facility, nearly 3kg of single garlic can produce 1kg of single black garlic, while the price of raw garlic is nearly a million VND per kg, so the selling price is usually 3 million VND per kg, and the product is very scarce. Therefore, selling single black garlic from Ly Son for several hundred thousand to a million VND per kg requires re-verification of its origin,” said Mr. Cuong.

VnExpress's survey also shows that the current price of Phu Yen and Phan Giang single garlic is 300,000-400,000 VND per kilogram, and Ly Son single garlic is 1-1.2 million VND per kilogram. Particularly, Chinese single garlic, which is sold a lot in Ho Chi Minh City markets, is priced at 60,000-100,000 VND per kilogram.

According to statistics from the Department of Economic and Rural Infrastructure of Ly Son district, in 2015, the islanders produced 325 hectares of garlic. Due to harsh weather and many pests, the total harvest yield was only about 3,000 tons, down nearly 45% compared to the previous crop. Of which, the yield of single garlic was low at only 1.5 tons. That yield was not enough to supply black garlic production units for a year.

In the first quarter of this year, the report of the People's Committee of Ly Son district also said that this year's garlic crop continued to fail, with an estimated average yield (fresh garlic) of 34.8 quintals per hectare, and output of 1,169 tons, down 58.42% over the same period last year and equal to 29.59% of the annual plan. As for single garlic, the output was very low.

According to VNE