Tuong Duong: Food prices "soar"

(Baonghean)Tuong Duong is known for its relatively high food prices. During the rainy season, many villages in remote areas flock to the Hoa Binh town wholesale market to buy food, causing supply to fall short of demand and prices to skyrocket...

Ms. Vi Thi Tinh from Yen Hoa commune braved the rain to go to Hoa Binh market to buy seafood to stock up for the rainy days ahead. At the market, she was charged exorbitant prices for every type of food she inquired about. Pointing to a basket of scad fish, she was told the price was 75,000 VND/kg, while the usual price here is 65,000 VND/kg. It is known that the price of scad fish in lowland districts like Yen Thanh and Quynh Luu is only 40,000-45,000 VND/kg. Ms. Tinh tried to buy cheaper dried fish, but that was also sold out, so she reluctantly bought 2 kg of scad fish for 150,000 VND. Seafood prices remained high: snakehead fish at 130,000 VND/kg, carp at 70,000 VND/kg, and ice-packed squid at 200,000 VND/kg…

Mr. Vi Van Quyet from Tam Thai commune had to drive more than 10 km to Hoa Binh town market to buy pork at 120,000 VND/kg. Meanwhile, pork prices in the lowland districts are only 80,000 - 90,000 VND/kg. Mr. Quyet said the reason for the price increase is due to traders manipulating prices. They buy pigs from local people at low prices but sell them at Hoa Binh town market at very high prices. We went to the beef stall, where the seller was "shouting" prices at 230,000 VND/kg, while beef in the lowlands costs only 180,000 - 200,000 VND/kg. Free-range chicken was 135,000 - 140,000 VND/kg, and hybrid duck was 80,000 VND/kg. Regular rice was also quite expensive here at 12,000 VND/kg.

Fresh vegetables are scarce at Hoa Binh Town Market (Tuong Duong District), with stalls mainly selling root vegetables and fruits.

In particular, green vegetables are always scarce at Hoa Binh market. Ms. Luong Thi Thao, who specializes in selling vegetables at Hoa Binh market, said: "I bought about 40 bunches of cabbage from farmers in Thach Giam commune, but I sold them all in the morning at 5,000 VND per bunch." Around 4 pm, when we walked past the vegetable stalls, the sellers all shook their heads, saying "we're out of stock." Only green squash, cucumbers, onions, lemons, tomatoes, pineapples, and chili peppers remained on the stalls.

According to vegetable stall owners, the demand for green vegetables in Hoa Binh Town is quite high. Most of the vegetables come from the lowlands, and if it rains heavily and the vegetables haven't arrived yet, the town faces a shortage. Due to the scarcity of vegetables, local root vegetables and fruits are selling well. For example, the price of eggplant ranges from 35,000 to 40,000 VND/kg, and the price of Mong melons is from 16,000 to 18,000 VND/kg. Ms. Luong Thi Mai from Thach Giam confided: "With such high prices, my family is trying to 'tighten our belts,' because sometimes we don't even have enough food to buy with just a few tens of thousands of VND at the market."

Hoa Binh town has long been known for its expensive food. At restaurants here, a plate of catfish or other types of fish costs between 400,000 and 500,000 VND, and a bowl of catfish soup with green bananas costs 150,000 VND. A meal for 4-5 people, ordering only catfish, other types of fish, and pork, can cost up to 1.2 million VND. Breakfast is also very expensive: At a restaurant opposite the Tuong Duong Police Station, a bowl of duck vermicelli costs 30,000 VND. Mr. Tran Van Minh from Vinh City, who frequently works here, said: "When you go to Tuong Duong to eat, you have to ask for the price beforehand. Only order if it's reasonable; otherwise, you're likely to be ripped off."

Mr. Lo Kham Kha, Deputy Head of the Agriculture Department of Tuong Duong District, said: In 2012, the District People's Committee opened a "price stabilization" store, with the district allocating 15 million VND from Program 30a to support it. Two households sold vegetables, fruits, meat, and fish. Initially, it operated quite effectively, allowing people to buy food with clear origins and reasonable prices. However, the "price stabilization" store has since been disbanded for various reasons. Hoa Binh Town Market is a wholesale market supplying essential goods to most of the remote communes of Tuong Duong. However, to date, prices have not been stabilized; people are still paying higher prices than the market rate, while their lives are very difficult.

Currently, Thach Giam commune has a model of growing green vegetables on over 1 hectare, but it is not yet sufficient to meet the demand of Hoa Binh town. Thach Giam is continuing to develop 1 hectare of vegetables in Nhan village to serve the market in the district. However, during the rainy season and storms, the vegetables are damaged, so Tuong Duong still faces a shortage of vegetables. Mr. Kha added: To help stabilize prices, the district is encouraging people to grow vegetables and raise chickens and ducks to meet their family needs. For flat land, vegetable fields are being planned to meet local demand and contribute to price stabilization.

King Tran