In recent days, the image of a foreign tourist picking spinach seeds at Noi Bai airport has gone viral on social media. Many people joked that perhaps vegetables in the US are expensive, so the tourist took the opportunity to bring some vegetables back home.
Also from this image, the story related to the price of water spinach in the US attracted the online community.
In the southeastern US state of Georgia, for decades this vegetable was considered illegal.
According to Atlanta Magazine, water spinach has been banned in the state since the 1970s due to its invasive nature. The plant requires moist soil to thrive. It has been described as growing like a weed, consuming nearby water sources and harming native plants.
In addition, water spinach is also considered to create a breeding ground for mosquitoes and damage ponds, especially in humid subtropical climates such as Georgia and Florida.
For a long time, Asians living in Georgia had to buy spinach from Florida and Texas. They even sold it secretly from their cars in supermarket parking lots or delivered it to customers’ homes.
Jenny Vo, CEO of two local supermarkets, City Farmers Market and Hong Kong Supermarket, revealed that at one point, the price of water spinach sold on the black market was up to 22 USD/kg (more than 515,000 VND). This price is three times higher than in other states.
"When going to a restaurant and wanting to eat water spinach, customers have to ask very tactfully and secretly, like, 'Do you sell that vegetable?'" Ms. Jenny Vo recalls.
In the 2021 Georgia election, water spinach continued to be a hot topic. State Representative Marvin Lim recognized the vegetable when he visited the village where his mother grew up in the Philippines.
From there, he researched and talked to experts from Florida and Texas to learn how these states grow spinach without harming the environment. A petition to approve spinach in Georgia received 100,000 signatures with high consensus.
In 2022, the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) officially allowed restaurants in the state to import and put spinach on the menu and serve customers.
However, to date, growing water spinach is still not allowed in the state of Georgia. Supermarkets and grocery stores are only allowed to sell water spinach if the roots are "cut very deep, leaving no roots behind" so that customers cannot replant the vegetables when they take them home.
Nowadays, this vegetable appears in regular grocery stores, selling at a more reasonable price, about 6 USD/kg (more than 140,000 VND).
Meanwhile, Ms. Le Thuy Duong, 34 years old, from Nam Dinh, currently living in the US, said that the price of water spinach in her state is usually around 70,000 VND/0.454kg (in pounds). Thus, one kilogram of water spinach will cost about 175,000 VND. But if it is out of season, this vegetable can cost up to 143,000 VND/0.454kg, equivalent to 360,000 VND/kg.
According to Ms. Duong, water spinach in particular and Asian vegetables are not popular in the US because they only serve the Asian community. Most Americans do not like water spinach because it is tough. They usually eat soft vegetables such as salad or cauliflower...
"Because it is not popular, rarely grown, and has low yield, it is understandable that water spinach is more expensive than other vegetables. However, compared to the standard of living in the US, this price is normal, not too expensive," said Ms. Duong.
Regarding the information that water spinach is more expensive than pork in the US, Ms. Duong said that depending on the time and the part of the meat, water spinach can be more expensive than pork. Pork costs from 2.5 to 5.78 USD/0.454 kg, while water spinach ranges from 2.5 to 5.99 USD/0.454 kg.
The woman from Nam Dinh added that the US has very strict regulations on bringing agricultural products into the country by air.
This country's regulations strictly prohibit people from bringing seeds, vegetables, meat and meat products into the country. One of the main reasons is that the US is afraid of the risk of disease.
"A few years ago, my mother came to visit me from Vietnam and brought some lemons. When entering the Chicago airport, she was detained by airport security for 2 hours to check all her belongings. They said she was absolutely not allowed to bring lemons or any other vegetables, fruits, or seeds in her luggage," Ms. Duong shared her experience.
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