Chicken feet - an item sold everywhere in the market, priced at tens of thousands of VND per kilo (1kg contains about 20 pieces). At sidewalk stalls, grilled or boiled chicken feet are only over 10,000 VND per piece.

However, in addition to industrial chicken feet, many people on the market also sell Dong Tao chicken feet at quite expensive prices, ranging from 350,000-400,000 VND/kg. Some sources even sell pairs of chicken feet at 200,000 VND/piece.

Dong Tao is a specialty chicken breed raised in Hung Yen. This type of chicken has big feet, many tendons, and is chewy and crunchy. Therefore, the price of Dong Tao chicken is also determined by its feet. The bigger the chicken feet, the more expensive the chicken is.

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Dong Tao chicken feet are sold on the "online market". Photo: NVCC

Holding a bag of carefully vacuum-sealed Dong Tao chicken feet, Ms. Dam Thi Hai in Minh Khai (Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi) said: "It's been a long time since I saw the store selling them, so I immediately bought 3kg to freeze and eat gradually."

Previously, this type of super-large chicken feet was very expensive, costing around 1 million VND/kg. Therefore, although Dong Tao chicken feet were a family favorite, Ms. Hai rarely bought them to eat.

In the past two years, she has bought them more often because the price is much more affordable than before. Every time she buys this type of chicken feet, she usually stews them with Chinese herbs, and in the summer, she boils them and soaks them in lemongrass and lime.

On the afternoon of July 30, after less than half an hour of posting 10kg of Dong Tao chicken feet for sale on her personal Facebook page, Ms. Le Thi Thanh Nhan - an online agricultural product seller in Cau Giay (Hanoi) - had to note the information "out of stock".

Ms. Nhan said that this type of chicken feet is not available regularly. She has to order in advance from her suppliers in Hung Yen, and when there is a wedding where Dong Tao chicken is eaten, she will have extra feet to sell wholesale to me. Therefore, the amount of feet imported for retail sale to customers also depends on the batch.

During the wedding season, the source of these chicken feet will be abundant and the goods will be more regular. During the hot summer season like now, Dong Tao chicken feet are quite rare.

“Since the beginning of July, I have only received one shipment,” she said. This shipment of chicken feet is size 5-7 feet/kg, she sells for 350,000 VND/kg, meaning each foot costs about 50,000-70,000 VND.

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The bigger the chicken feet, the more expensive they are, and the more people seek them out. Photo: NVCC

With large sizes of 2-3 feet/kg, she sells them for 200,000 VND/piece. However, this type of super-large chicken feet is very rare, gourmets often buy them to make stews or soak them in lemongrass and lime. Therefore, whenever there are products, she will prioritize selling them to regular customers, not advertising them online like the popular size Dong Tao chicken feet.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong - a Dong Tao chicken feet seller at an online market with hundreds of thousands of members - admitted that this type of chicken feet is quite expensive but is still sought after by many customers.

According to her, a few years ago, Dong Tao chicken feet were very rare so the price was sky high, but there were still not enough to sell. In recent years, in addition to purebred chickens, households have also crossbred to produce Dong Tao chickens at a more affordable price, suitable for many people's budgets. Therefore, the source of chicken feet is increasing.

“Commercially raised Dong Tao chickens have smaller legs than purebreds, and their selling price is also lower,” she shared. The common size is usually 5-8 legs/kg, and the selling price ranges from 350,000-450,000 VND/kg depending on the time.

On this occasion, Ms. Phuong collects goods from many different sources, because the demand is high but the supply is low. From August onwards, there are many weddings, at that time she can import 30-40kg of Dong Tao chicken feet per trip to fulfill customer orders. She can only import 2-3 such trips per week.

Retired teacher raises Dong Tao chickens, earning billions of dong each year . Although he is 74 years old, Mr. Dinh Xuan Thuc (Ninh Binh) still regularly takes care of his flock of thousands of Dong Tao chickens every day, bringing in an annual income of billions of dong.