HCM CITY — Shops in HCM City selling speciality items for Tết (Lunar New Year) have entered their peak sales period.

Cuttlefish pie, dried bamboo shoots and dried wood ear fungus from the north are among the highly sought-after gifts for the Lunar New Year, which falls on February 16 this year.  

Russian sturgeon caviar, Australian abalone, certain dried meats and fish, and dried and fresh fruits are also in demand.

An organic products shop on Thảo Điền Street in District 2 has been packed in recent days with customers buying Russian sturgeon caviar.

The number of people buying caviar during Tết is high, and most buy to gift, according to a shop employee.      

Sturgeon caviar cost around VNĐ 2.5 million (US$110) per 100g now.

Shops selling speciality product on streets like Cống Quỳnh in District 1, Ngô Đức Kế in Bình Thạnh District and Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai in District 3, are crowded these days.

Australian abalone and Japanese beef are among the products in great demand at these shops.

The price of large abalone, 3-4 of which make a kilogramme, is around VNĐ5.7 million a kilogramme.

Imported flowers are also very popular.

Nguyễn Thị Thu Lan, an owner of a flower shop in District 1, said most customers who buy imported flowers are companies or rich people because the flowers are more expensive than local varieties.

For instance, a stem of phalaenopsis orchids grown in Đà Lạt costs VNĐ300,000 while one with 18-20 flowers imported from Taiwan costs VNĐ1.3 million, she said.     

Specially shaped fruits

Many fruits which are grown in unique shapes like wine gourd-shaped grapefruits in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta for decoration during Tết are available in HCM City. 

City traders bought up these fruits in advance months ago to sell during Tết.

The Phú Trí A Agriculture Extension Club in Hậu Giang Province’s Châu Thành District will supply some 6,000 wine gourd-shaped grapefruits to HCM City and other provinces.

Võ Trung Thành, the first in the delta to grow the grapefruits in that shape, said each cost VNĐ300,000 – 1.5 million.

Hùynh Thanh Tâm, who successfully grew wine gourd-shaped coconuts in Bến Tre Province in 2016, will supply some 5,000 of them at VNĐ500,000 each. — VNS