During the flood season, in the Mekong Delta, special markets appear selling wild-caught delicacies thanks to the rising water, such as eels, snakes, turtles, field rats, snails, crabs… When the flood recedes, these markets gradually become quiet, and people call them “Mekong Delta seasonal markets.”

Snakes are sold in many places throughout the Mekong Delta, from large markets to small ones, but the most famous are the border area markets in An Giang province. Mr. Nguyên Văn Tuấn, owner of a snake purchasing facility at Khánh An market, An Phú district (An Giang), said that every year from July to November, his facility increases staff to buy and sell this item.

Mrs. Lương Thị Của, who has been in the snake trading business for more than 5 years at Vĩnh Hội Đông commune market, An Phú district – An Giang, said that this item has never lacked customers. Currently, every day she sells several hundred kilograms of snakes to traders in Ho Chi Minh City and other Mekong Delta provinces. The highest price is for king cobra (rắn ri voi) at 550,000 VND/kg, other types such as rắn trun at 150,000 VND/kg, hổ ngựa at 200,000 VND/kg, and rắn bông súng at 110,000 VND/kg…

This year, in addition to the common types, there are also red-tailed green pit vipers (rắn lục đuôi đỏ – a highly venomous species that has recently attacked many people in the Mekong Delta), brought across by Cambodian people for sale to be used for making medicinal wine and tonics for men, priced from 50,000 to 100,000 VND per snake depending on weight.

Rat snakes (rắn mối) are also in high demand, selling at 80,000–90,000 VND/kg. Most of this species are imported from Cambodia in very large quantities every day.

The flood season is also when many turtle selling points spring up. Rare and valuable turtle species also appear in the markets, priced from 280,000 to 350,000 VND/kg, though most buyers are large restaurants and eateries.

Mrs. Ngô Phương Mai, who sells turtles at Khánh An market, said that every flood season she goes to Cambodia to buy turtles to sell because they have become very rare in Vietnam. Flood-season turtle prices are usually half the price compared to the dry months.

Field rats are available year-round in the Mekong Delta, but they are most abundant during the flood season. When the fields are flooded, rats have to run up to higher ground, making them easier to catch. Phù Dật market in Bình Long commune, Châu Phú district (An Giang) is considered the largest rat market in the Mekong Delta. Every day, this place supplies tens of tons of field rats to pubs and restaurants across the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City.

That’s why rat prices during the flood season are cheaper: live rats range from 45,000 to 55,000 VND/kg, cleaned rats from 90,000 to 120,000 VND/kg.

Trường Xuân crab market in Tháp Mười district – Đồng Tháp is considered the largest crab market in the Mekong Delta. At this time, more than 100 tons of crabs of all sizes are gathered here every day for transport to Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces in the region.

Flood-season crab prices for the lowest grade are only 5,000 to 6,000 VND/kg. Mr. Trương Nguyễn Cảnh from Tân Hưng district – Long An said that every day he sets 400 crab traps and catches more than 150 kg of crabs, then brings them to the wholesale market for traders.

Long Bình snail market in An Giang is also the largest snail trading hub in the Mekong Delta, where tens of tons of snails are purchased and wholesaled every day to meet demand in the Mekong Delta provinces and Ho Chi Minh City.

The seasonal young silver barb (cá linh non) market in An Phú district, although it operates informally, is actually the largest collection point for young silver barb to be distributed nationwide. Besides local Mekong Delta fishermen, many Cambodian fishermen also bring fish across to sell every day.

Along with the snake, turtle, insect, and aquatic product markets, many small wholesale markets for flood-season aquatic vegetables and flowers such as water lilies (bông súng) and sesbania flowers (điên điển) also appear along riverbanks in the border areas of An Giang and Đồng Tháp.

In all these small markets, during this season, sesbania flowers (điên điển) are the most abundant item at vegetable stalls, priced at about 40,000 VND/kg.

According to Baomoi