VietNamNet Bridge – On many roads in Ho Chi Minh City, crocodile meat is sold rampantly on the sidewalk, for only VND50,000 ($2.5) per kilo.
Crocodile meat is sold at cheap prices on many suburban roads like
Highway 1A (Binh Tan, Binh Chanh District), Highway 13, Kha Van Can
(Thu Duc), Hanoi Highway (District 2), Provincial Road 8 (Cu Chi) and
even the inner roads such as Van Kiep (Binh Thanh District), Cong Hoa
(Tan Binh District). Sea crabs, oysters and river turtles are also sold
on the pavement.
The sellers say that the prices for these
specialties are cheap because these animals were bought from the first
breeder and they do not have to pay retailing space fee. The sellers are
enthusiastic to instruct buyers to process these specialties into
delicious cuisines.
Along the Hanoi Highway and Highway 13, many people sell turtles
on the sidewalk. The turtles come from farms in the southwestern region.
The price is cheap – VND200,000 ($10)/1kg.
A seller says that there are many turtle farms so the price is not expensive as before.
“Long An crocodile meat” is the signboard of many roadside
crocodile meat sellers. The price of this reptile is VND50,000-VND60,000
($2-3) per kilo.
A seller explains: “The crocodile farms in Long An raise crocodiles for skin so meat is very cheap.”
Sea crab is the specialty sold on the sidewalks of Saigon, with the label of Ca Mau and Ben Tre.
The price per one kilogram of Ca Mau crabs on the sidewalk is VND60,000-VND100,000 ($3-5).
Snakes and frogs are also brought up to the street by hawkers.
On the provincial highway 8 in Cu Chi district, there are nearly a dozen of snake “shops”.
The sellers insist that these snakes are “wild” and the price is just from VND100,000 to VND200,000 ($5-10) per kilo.
Snakes and turtles sold along Hanoi Highway, District 2.
Wild birds on the sidewalks, priced more than VND100,000/bird. The seller only shows 1-2 birds.
Rabbits are also sold on many roadsin Saigon.
Tri Thuc