Vegetable prices shoot up as storm Yagi destroys farms, hits transport

Traditional markets in the capital and the coastal localities of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh opened Sunday morning but with fewer vendors and shoppers than normal.

Prices had been rising for a few days before the storm, and on Sunday jumped by 20-30%, a vendor in Nghia Tan Market in Hanoi’s Cau Giay District said.

In Quang Ninh Province on the China border, vegetable and fruit prices are up 5-10% from a few days earlier, according to its Department of Industry and Trade.

In Hai Phong, the coastal city severely affected by the storm, vegetable supply was down and prices rose.

Traders complained about transportation difficulties and expected prices to remain high for a few days, saying the storm had destroyed many farms.

The vegetable section of a supermarket in Cau Giay District on Sep. 8, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Anh Tu

But supermarkets kept vegetable prices unchanged thanks to large stocks.

Director of Co.opmart Hanoi, Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, said there are enough stocks to keep prices steady.

"Though some suppliers did not make deliveries, we have enough inventory to meet customers’ needs."

All WinMart retail outlets operated normally on Sunday except for some that were damaged in the storm.

Aeon Vietnam saw consumers return after the storm, mostly to buy essential goods.

Typhoon Yagi, the most powerful storm to hit Asia this year, has resulted in the deaths of 24 people since it struck northern Vietnam on Saturday.

After more than 15 hours in Vietnam, Yagi weakened to a tropical depression in the Northwest region, though it continues to bring heavy rains and flooding.