Guided by Japanese experts, China has successfully grown a type of milk grape that is world-famous for its delicious taste. After a few years of expanding the growing area, this “noble” grape has become a cheap commodity in the Vietnamese market.
During lunch break, Ms. Quach Phuong Nhung in Nguyen Khang (Cau Giay, Hanoi) took the opportunity to order a box of milk grapes for 400,000 VND, which is only 40,000 VND per kilogram. She kept half of these grapes for her family to eat, and brought the rest back to her hometown over the weekend.
Ms. Nhung remembers that 5 years ago, the first time she bought Japanese milk grapes, the price was up to 3.5 million VND/bunch weighing 0.7 kg. Now she buys milk grapes but from China at dirt cheap prices.
Milk grapes (peony grapes) are a famous grape variety of Japan. This type of grape has appeared in the Vietnamese market for nearly ten years now in quite modest quantities. At first, there were only Japanese and Korean milk grapes on the market, and the selling price was extremely expensive, ranging from 900,000 VND to nearly 5 million VND/kg depending on the type.
Because of this, this sweet and milky grape is also called "noble" grape, only well-off families dare to buy it.
This “noble” grape variety was introduced to China in 2009, planted in Dinh Trang village (Jiangsu province) since 2011 and transferred technology by Japanese experts. Accordingly, high-quality grape bunches can be sold for 1.7 million VND/bunch - a very expensive price compared to other Chinese grape varieties.
In recent years, not only in Jiangsu, milk grapes have also been expanded in the growing areas of Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Gansu, Ningxia... The production of this type of grape has also increased sharply every year. During the harvest season, milk grapes not only serve the Chinese market of 1.4 billion people but also flood the Vietnamese market at increasingly cheap prices.
In 2020, Chinese milk grapes first appeared in Vietnamese markets, selling for 170,000-250,000 VND/kg, immediately causing a fever. Because this price is 1/5, or even 1/20, cheaper than the price of Korean or Japanese milk grapes. However, the quantity of Chinese milk grapes at that time was not much, so consumers who wanted to eat them still had to order in advance.
In the past three years, during the harvest season, Chinese milk grapes have flooded into Vietnam in large quantities. In the market, milk grapes are sold in abundance in stores, supermarkets, and are widely available in traditional and online markets. Notably, the price of milk grapes has also decreased sharply each year. And the "noble" fruit reserved for the rich has gradually become a common commodity with prices ranging from 70,000 to 120,000 VND/kg depending on the type.
At this time, Vietnamese consumers can easily buy bunches of large, shiny, sweet, milky grapes at any store, supermarket or market. Even on many streets, street vendors are full of milk grapes for sale at dirt cheap prices.
Ms. Nguyen Thuy Duong - an online fruit seller in Bac Tu Liem (Hanoi), said that there are many types of Chinese milk grapes on the market, and the price also depends on the type. However, she admitted that this type of grape is getting cheaper and cheaper.
For the past two weeks, she has been importing 5kg boxes of Chinese milk grapes to sell for less than 200,000 VND/box, or nearly 40,000 VND/kg. This is the cheapest price since she started importing this type of grape to sell.
“Previously, this price could only buy green grapes, red grapes or black corn grapes from China during the main season. Now, milk grapes are in abundance, overwhelming other types of grapes at equally cheap prices,” she said. Thanks to that, both wholesale and retail, she sells nearly 1 ton of milk grapes every day.
Similarly, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu (a fruit wholesaler in Cau Giay, Hanoi) said that in early July, she imported milk grapes to sell at 70,000 VND/kg, which she thought was very cheap. Now, the price has dropped to 50,000 VND/kg for retail customers, and buying in 10kg boxes costs only 40,000 VND/kg.
Yesterday afternoon, while cleaning out the warehouse to import a new container of goods, she sold off her milk grapes at 35,000 VND/kg. Customers rushed to buy them because the grapes were crunchy, sweet, and had a distinctive aroma, while the price was unbeatable.
Ms. Nhu is selling 5 different types of Chinese grapes. However, 3/4 of the orders are for milk grapes. Therefore, a container of dozens of tons, she sells wholesale and retail for only a few days.
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