On February 10 (the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month of the Year of the Snake), goods from across Vietnam flooded into Ho Chi Minh City’s wholesale markets, marking the start of the pre-Tet surge.
From vegetables and fruits to pork and meat, volumes have soared by up to 270 percent at peak nights, ensuring abundant supply for holiday demand.
Nguyen Binh Phuong, Business Director of Thu Duc Agricultural Products Wholesale Market Management and Business Joint Stock Company, said that the expected output on the 24th day of the 12th lunar month is about 3,000 tons a day and increases to about 5,100 tons a day on the 26th day of the 12th lunar month. An additional 3,000 tons of vegetables and fruits are being stockpiled, ready to be released when demand surges.
At Binh Dien market, during peak nights from the 25th to the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, the volume of goods can increase by about 80 percent compared to normal days. On the night of the 26th day of the 12th lunar month alone, it reached nearly 890 tons, an increase of about 270 percent. Meat production increased by about 60 percent , to over 350 tons a day.
In the final days before the Lunar New Year of the Horse, daily volumes at Ho Chi Minh City’s wholesale markets ranged between 2,800 and 3,500 tons. But following the night of the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, supply dropped sharply falling by about 40 percent, in line with long-standing seasonal patterns.
At the Hoc Mon wholesale market, the supply was well-prepared, with goods from provinces and cities continuously arriving from late night to early morning. According to Mr. Le Van Tien, Director of the Hoc Mon wholesale market, the peak period from the 25th to the 29th of the 12th lunar month saw an expected volume of agricultural products reaching 2,700-3,300 tons per day and night, an increase of 30 percent -50 percent. For pork, the volume imported to the market on the nights of the 28th and 29th of the 12th lunar month reached approximately 700 tons, equivalent to 9,300-10,000 pigs each night, double the normal daily volume.
