Vietnam: Over 200,000 VND per kilogram of off-season early plums

This year, off-season Hau plums appeared earlier than every year. In December, plum gardens in Son La began harvesting the first prunings. Normally, off-season plums are only available from February of the following year, but thanks to early fruit stimulation techniques, traders and stores have been able to bring this specialty fruit to consumers. In Hanoi, many fruit stores such as Ms. Thanh Huyen's (Phung Khoan) have imported off-season Hau plums from Son La, with prices ranging from 140,000 to 220,000 VND per kilogram, depending on size and ripeness. "Off-season early plums are small and sour, but they sell out as soon as they arrive, even though the price is much higher than during the main season," Ms. Huyen said. Similarly, in Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Hoang Anh, the owner of a fruit store in District 5, shared that she can only import 10-15kg of off-season plums each time due to limited supply. After adding transportation costs, the retail price is about 230,000 VND per ...