Survey at markets in Hanoi, tam hoa plums and plums originating from Moc Chau (Son La), Bac Ha (Lao Cai) are at the end of the season, the fruits are large and ripe red. The price of plums has also increased, ranging from 50,000-100,000 VND/kg depending on the type, because the supply of these two types of plums is increasingly scarce.
Besides plums and tam hoa plums, there are times when At this point in the market as well as on the streets, there are also green plums (traders call them sugar plums) and black plums at very cheap prices, only from 25,000-35,000 VND/kg, depending on the type. These two types of plums are popular because many people think they are Vietnamese specialty plums. Notably, the price of these two types of plums is quite cheap, only 1/2 or 1/3 the price of queen plums and tam hoa plums.
Chinese sugar plums are appearing flooding the market
But according to traders at Long Bien wholesale market, black plums and sugar plums are Chinese plums, not Vietnamese plums This usually appears at the end of the season of plums and plums. That is also the reason why many housewives often buy Chinese plums to eat without even realizing it, thinking that Vietnamese plums are not yet out of season.
Talking with reporter Mr. Le Son Ha, Head of Food Quarantine Department (Department of Plant Protection, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that in 2016, Vietnam imported about 9,100 tons of Chinese plums through Lang Son and Lao Cai border gates. This year’s plum season alone, we imported about 7,200 tons of all kinds of Chinese plums.
Previously, the leader of a plant quarantine department at the Northern border gate also admitted that plums are a Vietnamese specialty. At the end of the season, Chinese plums begin to be imported in large numbers. Specifically, from June to August is the time when Chinese plums begin to appear in the market.
A look at the types of Chinese plums being sold in the market
Even though 7,200 tons of Chinese plums were imported, on the Chinese plum market they are all labeled “Vietnamese plums” with names like “Bac Ha plums” “Sapa plums”… So how to receive them? Do you know that Chinese plums are being sold on the market today?
According to Mr. Nguyen Phi Long, a fruit wholesaler at Long Bien wholesale market is currently selling two types of plums. Next China:
Sugar plum: Usually appears when Tam Hoa plum enters the end of the season, priced at 30,000-35,000 VND/kg.
This type of plum is characterized by the fact that at the beginning of the season, when the plum is still green, it will be crunchy and have a sour taste without removing the seeds. The outside skin is yellow-green and the fruit is larger than Vietnamese rice plums (Vietnamese rice plum season is before Tam Hoa plums, which is around March-April every year).
When sugar plums are ripe, the fruit will turn to yellow with a few red spots. Eat crunchy and sweet seeds. Traders call this type of plum “sugar plum” because when ripe they are considered the sweetest of all plums.
Chinese black purple plums masquerading as plums Lao Cai black plum
Black purple plum: This type of plum is often called black purple plum or buffalo plum by traders because the plum is about 4 times larger. -5 times Tam Hoa plum. Usually, 1kg of black plums yields about 7-9 fruits.
The most outstanding feature of this type of plum is the extremely even color of the skin, which when ripe is black and when slightly green, it is dark purple. When you open the plum, you will see that the inside is yellow with many small seeds. When eaten, the taste is slightly sweet, the flesh is soft, and many fruits are slightly sour (uneven quality). The price of this plum is 25,000-30,000 VND/kg.
This huge black plum is often labeled “Sapa plum” by traders because it is quite similar to the black plum in Lao Cai. But Lao Cai black plums are very small in quantity, half or 1/3 the size of Chinese black plums (Lao Cai black plums are as big as tam hoa plums or plums).
English Long also said that in addition to the above two plums, in about a month or so, a red plum will appear on the market, similar in weight to purple-black plums with yellow flesh and a sweet taste. Good traders ad are American plums and Lao Cai blood plums.
However, Lao Cai blood plums are only as small as queen plums and are now in full ripening season, but the quantity is not many, Mr. Long shared.
According to Bao Phuong
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