Why did the price of green vegetables in Nghe An increase sharply?

In traditional markets, vegetable prices have increased sharply for more than a month now and the variety is not as diverse as before. Photo: Thanh Phuc

About mid-June until now,Vegetables set new price levelWhen gasoline prices continuously increased, the price of green vegetables increased by 20-30%. After 4 times of gasoline price reduction, vegetable prices remained high, some types increased 2-3 times such as: green onions, Malabar spinach, hot peppers... Specifically, currently, squash costs 20,000 VND/kg (an increase of 5,000 VND/kg compared to before); sweet mustard greens, hot mustard greens 30,000 - 35,000 VND/kg (an increase of 5,000 - 7,000 VND/kg compared to before); Malabar spinach 10,000 - 12,000 VND/bunch (an increase of 5,000 - 6,000 VND/bunch); green onions increased to 45,000 - 50,000 VND/kg; cauliflower 60,000 VND/kg; Green beans cost 40,000 VND/kg, lettuce costs 50,000 VND/kg.

The prices of vegetables are more stable, only slightly increased such as: carrots: 20,000 VND/kg; potatoes 20,000 VND/kg; okra 20,000 VND/kg... Particularly, water spinach is in harvest season so the price is cheaper by 5-7,000 VND/bunch; squash 7,000 VND/kg.

Many types of vegetables have increased in price by 2-3 times. Specifically, various types of cabbage are currently priced at 30,000-35,000 VND/kg; cauliflower is priced at 60,000 VND/kg. Photo: Thanh Phuc

At supermarkets,clean food store, the prices of the following types also increased compared to before. Accordingly, leafy vegetables increased by about 30-40%, such as mustard greens, Malabar spinach, and Malabar spinach; while the prices of root vegetables increased by 15-20%. Most of the vegetables here are imported from cooperatives producing clean vegetables, organic vegetables, and VietGAP vegetables in Da Lat and Moc Chau. Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc, owner of a chain of clean food stores in Vinh city, said: "The import prices of vegetables this time increased, so the selling prices were also adjusted to increase accordingly."

The reason for the sudden increase in vegetable prices is due to limited supply. Unfavorable weather conditions in May caused flooding, causing vegetables to rot and wilt. Then, there were consecutive periods of intense heat and Lao winds, making it difficult for vegetables to grow, forcing many vegetable growing areas to switch to drought-resistant crops. Meanwhile, some types of fruits and vegetables that were in peak harvest season had crop failures.

The reason is due to unfavorable weather, so the supply is scarce. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, an agricultural officer of Nam Anh commune (Nam Dan) said: “In previous years, this was the time to harvest the morning glory flower, but this year, this type of flower had a bad harvest so only a few areas were able to harvest. This time, there were only eggplants, sweet melons, and bitter melons, while leafy vegetables were very scarce. The hot sun and Lao wind meant that leafy vegetables could not grow.”

In the "vegetable barn" of Quynh Luu, a place with a tradition of producing vegetables all year round, at this time, vegetables are also scarce due to the hot weather. Ms. Ho Thi Minh, a vegetable grower in Quynh Minh (Quynh Luu) said: “My family has nearly 1 sao of land growing various types of vegetables. In early June, my family planted mustard greens, sweet mustard greens, and Chinese cabbage, but due to the hot weather, the vegetables had their leaves damaged, were poorly developed, required a lot of care and watering, and the vegetables only yielded half of what they had before. Traders placed orders but there were no vegetables to sell.”

To supply vegetables to the market, irrigation must be done regularly, consuming electricity. In addition, the price of fertilizers and vegetable seeds has increased, affecting the cost of vegetables. Photo: Thanh Phuc

In addition, the prices of materials, fertilizers, and vegetable seeds have all increased. In addition, continuous irrigation requires a lot of electricity, forcing vegetable producers to raise their selling prices to ensure profits. Meanwhile, gasoline prices have decreased, but transportation costs have not been adjusted down, so vegetable prices remain high.

To meet people's consumption needs, vegetable growing areas in the province are actively planting and caring for vegetables that have been planted to ensure supply to the market.

Currently, green squash is in full harvest season and the price is quite cheap. Therefore, at this time, people can switch to using tubers and fruits to reduce spending. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Therefore, thevegetable shortageonly seasonal and local. At this time, people can switch to using tubers and fruits that are in season with cheap prices to adapt to spending.