Milk grapes have been on the Vietnamese market for a few years now, but they are still hot. At this time, the “noble” milk grapes from China continue to dominate online markets, spill out onto sidewalks, and are sold everywhere on street stalls.

Notably, the giant bunches of milk grapes with glossy green fruit that used to only serve the rich have now become cheap, common goods.

In mid-June, Ms. Dam Thi Minh in Kim Giang (Thanh Xuan) bought Chinese milk grapes for 150,000 VND/kg. Compared to other types of Chinese grapes sold in the market at that time, milk grapes were the most expensive, but still quite cheap compared to similar products from Korea and Japan.

In August, milk grapes became the fruit that she regularly bought and stored in the refrigerator. Because they only cost a few tens of thousands of VND per kilo, VIP goods cost less than 100,000 VND/kg.

“Yesterday, I was quite shocked when I saw someone on the online market selling milk grapes for only 25,000 VND/kg. A box of 10kg, so I invited a few other women to buy together,” Ms. Minh shared.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhu - a fruit seller in Cau Giay (Hanoi) - said that there are nearly ten types of Chinese grapes sold at the market, including: Ruby grapes, candy grapes, finger grapes, green grapes, red grapes, milk grapes... If comparing the prices of Chinese grapes at the present time, she admits that milk grapes have gone from being the most expensive to the cheapest in the market.

Ms. Nhu cited that Chinese grapes are often very cheap. Accordingly, candy grapes, finger grapes or Ruby grapes she is selling are priced from 40,000-70,000 VND/kg, and milk grapes are only 300,000 VND/10kg basket (30,000 VND/kg).

In mid-August, she also sold milk grapes for 40,000-50,000 VND/kg. However, these were small bunches, with rotten fruits already trimmed, meaning they were discarded.

Now, the milk grapes at 30,000 VND/kg are VIP goods. Each bunch weighs from 1-1.5kg, the fruit is large, shiny and sweet. However, she does not sell these milk grapes separately by weight, but sells them in whole 10kg.

“Normally, when buying grapes, most customers only order 1-2kg per order. But because milk grapes are so cheap, there are a lot of customers ordering in bulk,” she said. Yesterday, Ms. Nhu sold out nearly 300 boxes to both wholesale and retail customers. As for wholesale customers, the price will vary depending on the quantity ordered.

On the online market, wholesalers are selling milk grapes in large quantities. The price of this “noble” grape is also decreasing day by day.

Among them, grapes packed in crates and boxes are commonly priced at 30,000-40,000 VND/kg, and some places even sell them for only 25,000 VND/kg.

Ms. Bui Thi Quynh, a wholesaler of milk grapes at an online market with nearly 400,000 members participating in buying and selling, said that in early July, she sold milk grapes in bulk, 3-4 bunches/basket, weighing 5kg, for 220,000 VND. However, in the past week, the price of this type of grape has dropped to only 160,000 VND/basket. The Doremon Vip milk grape variety is also only 140,000 VND/box, weighing 2.5kg of flesh.

According to her, it is the main harvest season for milk grapes, so there are many products and the prices are cheap. This is also the cheapest price since Chinese milk grapes appeared in the Vietnamese market.

Currently, every day she brings home a truck of about 3.5 tons of milk grapes to deliver wholesale orders to customers, mainly customers in Hanoi, Ms. Quynh shared.

In just a few years, China has turned a 'noble' fruit into a cheap commodity . With the guidance of a Japanese expert, 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.