People in Ho Chi Minh City spend nearly ten million dong to buy unusual pumpkins for Halloween.

In recent years, Halloween has become a beloved festival in Vietnam, with many people not hesitating to spend money on decorations for this occasion.​

A variety of pumpkins in different sizes and colors available for Halloween. Photo: Nhu Quynh The Halloween festival (short for "All Hallows Evening") originated from the West. Pumpkin is an indispensable symbol of Halloween. According to Western spiritual beliefs, hanging a carved jack-o'-lantern at the front door bears a spooky face and lighting a candle inside is intended to pray for the souls and to hope that they have enough light to find their way without disturbing humans. In Vietnam, many people also look for pumpkins to decorate in celebration of this festival. According to a survey by Lao Dong, the Halloween pumpkin market this year is incredibly diverse, with demand increasing, and prices ranging from 130,000 to 270,000 VND/kg, depending on the type. Specifically, watermelons are about 175,000 VND/kg, mini orange pumpkins 200,000 VND/kg, imported chocolate pumpkins 250,000 VND/kg, and swan pumpkins 250,000 VND/kg… Among these, giant pumpkins and swan pumpkins are the most favored decorative types by customers due to their unique shapes. Owning a pumpkin business in District 3, Ms. Dung said many customers ordered giant pumpkins and some uniquely shaped models, but they are currently out of stock, and finding additional supply is difficult as most are imported. "We could only import a few giant pumpkins, the largest over 25 kg each from Dalat, nearly 3 million VND each, but they were sold as soon as they arrived; many customers from afar inquired but they were already out of stock," Ms. Dung said. Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Director of Tam Nong Vietnam Cooperative (Cu Chi District, Ho Chi Minh City) informed that so far, she has sold more than 1 ton of giant pumpkins, with the largest weighing about 70 kg, priced at nearly 7 million VND each and has been sold. Mr. Nguyen Duc Manh (a delivery worker living in Binh Thanh District) shared that as Halloween approaches, he has to continuously pick up and deliver orders. “Most individual orders are from a few hundred thousand VND, and many orders delivered to restaurants and schools amount to several million VND,” Mr. Manh said. Some customers prefer imported giant pumpkins because they are large, evenly grooved, easy to carve, and to place lights inside. Giant chocolate pumpkins imported from Japan are priced at over 3 million VND each. In addition, black swan pumpkins, chestnut pumpkins, flying saucer pumpkins… are some new models this year that customers are also eagerly seeking. Most customers buy sets designed by the store because they are quite affordable and convenient, including 4-5 different types of pumpkins along with straw, scarecrows, LED lights… Pumpkins are painted with expressive faces that look quite interesting. In addition, some fabric and plastic pumpkins are also sought after by many customers during Halloween.

Source: https://dulich.laodong.vn/photo/ngu...mua-bi-ngo-ky-quai-dip-halloween-1260707.html