When do Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes hit the market? Price, differences from domestic ones, and whether they are genetically modified

Vietnam is a major grain-producing country bordering China. Its unique tropical climate, fertile soil and long hours of sunlight create an excellent environment for growing purple sweet potatoes. So, when do Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes generally mature and hit the market? What are the differences between them and domestic ones? What is the price per jin? Are they genetically modified?

1. When do Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes generally mature and hit the market?

It is understood that Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes are generally harvested in mid to late October; for those meant for fresh eating, the harvest is delayed until early November, and they must all be harvested before frost.

2. What are the differences between Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes and domestic purple sweet potatoes?

Compared with ordinary purple sweet potatoes, Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes have higher starch and vitamin content and a particularly starchy, soft texture. Compared with ordinary domestic purple sweet potatoes, Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes have deep purple flesh, thin and tender skin, a rich sweet potato aroma and fine, delicate flesh.

3. What is the price per jin of Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes?

The market price of Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes is around 5-7 yuan per jin. Besides the nutrients found in ordinary sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes are also rich in selenium and anthocyanins. Purple sweet potatoes are one of the main raw materials for anthocyanins.

4. Are purple sweet potatoes genetically modified?

Vietnamese purple sweet potatoes are not genetically modified. In recent years, people have begun to pay attention to food nutrition and have found that purple sweet potatoes are highly nutritious. Agricultural research institutes in various places have bred many new purple sweet potato varieties with high yields and good quality, so purple sweet potatoes have become more common on the market, and their price is also higher than that of ordinary varieties. Many foods contain anthocyanins. Among the many purple foods, purple sweet potatoes not only have high yields and low costs, but also have high anthocyanin content, so they are highly favored. Research papers on purple sweet potatoes have been published continuously in recent years. For example, in 2009, Modern Food Science and Technology published "Study on the Spectral Characteristics and Antioxidant Activity of Anthocyanins from Purple Sweet Potato," which showed that purple sweet potato anthocyanins have a strong antioxidant effect.

Fan Zhihong, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, pointed out, “In fact, natural plants are inherently diverse in shape. The same kind of thing can be large or small, and in all sorts of colors. People only see a product of one size and one color simply because humans commonly grow that variety. For example, by crossbreeding various tomato varieties with one another, you can breed tomatoes of different colors, such as deep red, pink, yellow and green, as well as different sizes. These are perfectly normal things and have nothing at all to do with genetic modification. It is just like how humans have different ethnic groups; when different races intermarry, mixed-race children are born with changes in nose bridge height, mouth shape, eye and hair color, and height. On the contrary, some genetically modified products often look perfectly normal, so you cannot judge whether a product is genetically modified by color or size.”