At noon on December 27, at Dai Tu market (Hoang Mai, Hanoi), Ms. Phung Thi Thao stopped by a fruit stall to buy a bunch of bananas for the Tet fruit tray. As soon as she asked the price of green bananas, the stall owner told her: “The small bunches with even fruits on the outside cost 150,000-250,000 VND depending on the bunch. The goods inside are all VIP bunches with odd fruits, priced from 450,000-700,000 VND/bunch. The bunch of 29 fruits costs 1 million VND but they are all booked.”

After some hesitation, Ms. Thao decided to buy a bunch of 25 bananas for 700,000 VND. “It’s only Tet every year, so I want to make a beautiful tray of five fruits to worship my ancestors,” she said. In addition to bananas, she also bought apples, coconuts, leftover fruits, and dragon fruit for worship.

Talking to VietNamNet about the price of green bananas, Ms. Vu Thi Lam - a banana seller at Dai Tu market, said that the price of green bananas has never been as expensive as this Tet At Ty. Compared to last year's Tet, the price of bananas has tripled, and compared to normal days, it has increased 7-10 times.

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Green banana prices at Tet market are super expensive. Photo: Tam An

However, the odd bunches of bananas with 17-31 fruits are still very popular. As soon as the odd bunch is cut, customers order it all.

“These bananas were ordered from the garden and arrived the same day, so they were very fresh. However, I also had to pay a daily increase in price because the garden only accepts to keep the goods and deposit money, but they do not set the price in advance,” she said. That is why the price of bananas in the past two days has been more expensive than the previous days.

At Van Chuong market (Dong Da, Hanoi), the price of green bananas on the 27th of Tet is also sky high, ranging from 350,000-500,000 VND/normal bunch. Beautiful bunches with single fruit cost up to 1 million VND, making many people dizzy.

"I've been walking around the market asking for green bananas but haven't been able to find a single bunch that's affordable," said Ms. Minh Ngoc in Dong Da.

Not only green bananas from the North, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh - a fruit seller in Cau Giay (Hanoi) said that green bananas shipped from the South are also "sold out" and the price is constantly increasing.

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Green bananas from the South are flooding the North to supply, but prices have also doubled. Photo: NVCC

She remembers the first shipment of green bananas, 200 boxes, sold for 40,000 VND/kg, a bunch weighing 3-4kg cost only 120,000-160,000 VND/kg. And buying a whole box cost only 400,000 VND, with a total of 4 bunches.

“At that time, I thought it was unsold because many people were afraid that green bananas sent by refrigerated containers to worship during Tet would quickly deteriorate,” she said. Later, she was surprised when people rushed to close orders. Compared to green bananas from the North, those from the South were still much cheaper.

Yesterday and this morning, 200 more boxes arrived each time, but the price has increased sharply. At the warehouse, if customers choose to buy by weight, the price is 80,000 VND/kg, twice as expensive as on December 25. If you buy by box, the price is 550,000 VND/box.

At this price, Ms. Thanh sells at the warehouse, does not accept delivery, nor does she accept deposits to hold the goods until the next day.

“It’s very difficult to call a shipper during Tet. Banana prices change every day, so we can’t accept deposits to hold the goods for customers like we usually do,” she said.

In the market, the price of green bananas for Tet still shows no signs of cooling down. Many people who go to the market find the price of this fruit too expensive, so they have to sadly consider making a fruit tray without green bananas.

Green bananas at the Tet market are very expensive, many places are selling them for up to half a million VND/bunch. Meanwhile, cheap bananas from the South are flooding into the North to quickly supply the Tet market in Hanoi.