The fruit is large and is said to have precious essences from ginseng, Korean peony is priced at 500,000 VND per cluster, still attracting customers.
Ms. Oanh, manager of the fruit shop on Nguyen Huu Canh Street (District 1), said that in the last two weeks, all the Korean ginseng patterns imported were all purchased after only a few days of sale. The store does not sell in kilograms but divided by beams for easy choice.
“Each beam costs 500,000 VND. However, this level is still more reasonable than many high -end grapes from Korea and Japan,” she said.
Grapes are sold on supermarkets on Hai Ba Trung Street, District 1 (Ho Chi Minh City). Image: Thi Ha
Not only small stores, large distribution chains also record the attraction of this grape. Mr. Vo Thanh Loc, co-founder of Farmers’ Market, said that each month the system consumes about 350-400 boxes of ginseng single grape, accounting for about 10% of the total number of Korean grapes imported. Due to the limited import number, the price of grapes changes in each batch of goods.
“Currently, a bunch of 700 grams is priced at 519,000 VND, while 4 barrels cost nearly 2.1 million. The large beams from 1-1.2 kg, are selected more carefully, costing up to 900,000 VND,” Loc added.
According to small businesses, the difference of this grape is not only in the size of the fruit – an average diameter of 4-5 cm, weighing 18-25 grams – but also in the nutritional composition. Grapes are cultivated by special methods to absorb precious nutrients, including the saponin – the compound in ginseng.
According to the test results of Chungnam National University of Science (South Korea), the content of saponin in this grape reaches 2.81mg on grams, equivalent to saponin essence in Korean ginseng.
Single ginseng patterns launched in 2023 after many years of research in Korea, harvested from November to March every year, mainly grown in the areas of Yeongcheon, Gimcheon, Sangju, Gyeongsan and Gyeongju in Gyeongbuk province. These are areas with ideal climatic and soil conditions, helping grapes grow with the highest quality.
However, due to limited output, this grape is mainly for the domestic market. Earlier this year, before the increasing demand from high -end customers in Vietnam, some units have imported with prices ranging from 600,000 to 700,000 VND per kg, to sell to customers.
Business establishments say each grape barrel is equipped with QR code for consumers to check the origin and ensure genuine products. When choosing to buy, customers should pay attention to the bunches of grapes with glossy, juicy shells, avoiding crushed or damaged fruits to ensure the best experience.
According to the customs, last year Vietnam spent $ 162 million to import grapes from many countries, an increase of 2% compared to 2023. Grapes were the third ranked after apples and pistachios were most imported into Vietnam last year. Currently, South Korea is the 6th market in exporting vegetables and fruits to Vietnam. In the first 2 months of the year, Vietnam spent more than $ 9 million imported from this country, down 6% compared to the same period last year. The reason is that many agricultural products are at the end of the crop, so the output decreases.