Tet flower prices surge in Ho Chi Minh City
Tet flower prices surge in Ho Chi Minh City
Flowers and plants for the coming Lunar New Year are selling at inflated prices due to the shortage caused by unseasonal weather conditions.
Major Tet flower markets have opened at the 23/9 and Le Van Tam Parks in District 1 and Gia Dinh Park in Go Vap District, along with several others, while smaller locations throughout the city have also warmed up for buyers.
Dung, a seller of peach blossoms grown in the northern province of Thai Binh, said that he expected good sales this year as he was nurturing his plants at Hoang Van Thu Park in Tan Binh District.
“I have sold 20 trees today and had to hire four people to help me as more buyers are anticipated in the next few days,” Dung said.
More peach flowers have been transported to the city this year, with prices ranging from VND1.5 million (US$66) to VND4 million ($177) per tree.
In the southern hub, there is a reduced variety of Tet flowers available this year.
Among them, rooster-shaped plants are in high demand, selling at between VND5 million ($222) and VND7 million ($310) each. The coming lunar year is designated as the Year of the Rooster in accordance with Vietnamese zodiac signs.
Meanwhile, the demand for the yellow apricot flower, the most common symbol of Tet in southern Vietnam, is down due to the overall reduced quality of this year’s crop, a direct result of poor weather in recent weeks.According to Nguyen Thi Mong, a flower vendor on Thanh Thai Street, most customers are browsing markets during this period, waiting for prices to be lowered.
Hanh, a resident of District 10 who recently bought a kumquat tree from Mong, said that this year’s Tet plants are not as good as last year's, though prices remain higher.
Meanwhile, Hoang Van Binh, from District 7, expressed his concern that Tet flowers would not bloom in time for the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 28, due to the unpredictable weather.
Selling a distinct type of daisy from the south-central province of Phu Yen, Dang Thanh Van feared that her plants would not be sold because of their reduced quality this year.
“I could only gather some 200 trees of a good enough standard after several floods at the end of last year, Van said, worried that she would incur losses as transporting her plants had been expensive.
Diep, another seller from the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, explained that she could not lower the price of her blossoms as it would mean not making any profit.
“I will suffer heavy losses as over 30 percent of my flower garden was damaged by the weather," Diep elaborated, hoping that it would improve next year.
