To create a unique product for Tet, farmer Tran Thanh Liem in Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City has made hundreds of watermelons in the shapes of gold nugget and Mercedes-Benz car.
Each pair of gold nugget watermelons is priced at VND3.5 million and that of Mercedes-Benz ones at VND10 million. Despite the high prices, the farmer has no enough watermelons to meet consumer demand.

“In the hope of turning out a special thing that means happiness and prosperity, I have turned normal watermelons into the shape of a gold nugget,” said Liem, adding that the pilot project started in 2007 but to no avail.

However, at last Tet, his gold-nugget watermelons with a yellow peel hit the market with more than 50 pairs sold out.

“To have a ‘gold nugget’ weighing 1.7 kilograms or above, the watermelon should weigh about 4 kilograms and to make one weighing about 1.2 kilograms, the watermelon has to weigh 2.5 to 3 kilograms,” said Liem.

This year, he will supply 130 pairs of gold-nugget watermelons in Hanoi, Haiphong, Danang and HCMC, up by 80 pairs over last Tet.

Moreover, in the coming Tet season, Liem will make about 10 pairs of watermelons in the shape of the Mercedes-Benz sedan which have been ordered by customers in Hanoi, Danang and HCMC. This business can earn Liem VND500 million to VND600 million this Tet season.

In a related development, Vo Thanh Chung, chair of the Nam Roi Pomelo Club of the Phu Huu Commune in Chau Thanh District, Hau Giang Province said that to date, some 4,000 pairs of Nam Roi pomelos have been created in the shape of the wine gourd and they are carved with words ‘Tai loc’ (prosperity). They are priced from VND700,000 to VND1 million per pair.

SGT