Flowers flow to HCMC before Tet
Flowers flow to HCMC before Tet
Flowers are flooding the HCMC market ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, and are being sold at multiple sites, such as the September 23 and Le Van Tam parks in District 1 and Gia Dinh Park in Phu Nhuan District.
Le Van Tai, owner of a flower garden in Sa Dec City in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, said he had transported nearly 1,000 flower pots to September 23 Park in HCMC, adding that the flower prices this Tet would not increase. French marigold and cockscomb flowers are being sold at some VND75,000 per pot, while a pot of chrysanthemum morifolium costs VND160,000-450,000, depending on the and quality of the flowers, according to Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper.
Also, farmers in Ben Tre Province are selling kumquat trees at the September 23 and Gia Dinh parks, at prices ranging from VND200,000 to VND500,000 a tree.
Thanh, who has transported thousands of peach blossom trees from the northern province of Thai Binh to HCMC, stated that peach blossom trees this year are more beautiful than those seen last year, but their prices remain unchanged. Meanwhile, apricot blossom bonsai pots cost VND200,000-400,000 each.
Thanh Thai and Bac Hai streets in HCMC’s District 10 are now awash with flowers, especially orchids. Phalaenopsis pots cost millions, or even hundreds of millions of Vietnamese dong.
Bui Thanh Liem, head of the agriculture and rural development division of Cho Lach District in Ben Tre Province, pointed out that the district now has nearly 600 hectares of flowers and bonsai trees to serve consumers for the Tet holiday, mainly apricot blossoms, kumquats, chrysanthemum morifolium and marigolds.
Meanwhile, Sa Dec Flower Village in Dong Thap Province is home to 110 hectares of flowers with three million pots, up one million pots from last Tet. Local farmers mainly grow chrysanthemums, marigolds and heath-bells, among others.
Liem suggested the favorable weather conditions helped farmers see a good flower season.
Tran Van Tien, owner of a flower garden in Cho Lach, said most of the gardeners in the district had taken steps to ensure their flowers would bloom on schedule.
In related news, farmers in the Central Highlands city of Dalat faced losses as cymbidiums have blossomed ahead of schedule and chrysanthemums have been afflicted with diseases, triggered by unfavorable climate conditions.
Although local farmers had adopted measures to inhibit the early bloom of these flowers, such as reducing the fertilizer, water supply and lighting, their efforts were in vain.
Nguyen Van Long, owner of a 5,000-square-meter flower garden in Dalat City, said he mainly grows cymbidiums in preparation for the Tet holiday, but so far, more than 70% of his crop has bloomed.
He now has to sell each branch of cymbidium for only VND50,000, one-tenth of the price per cymbidium pot on the days closer to Tet, based on last year’s prices.
Other flower growers in Dalat have faced the same fate and are selling their flowers on Hung Vuong, Tran Hung Dao and Quang Trung streets and in Lam Vien Square.
Meanwhile, chrysanthemum prices are one-third to one-fifth of that last Tet, and some farmers have even rooted out their flower beds due to depressed prices.
According to Phan Khac Cu, head of the Dalat economic division, the city has 550 hectares of chrysanthemums for the upcoming Tet holiday. The volume of chrysanthemums afflicted with diseases remains unknown.
Meanwhile, he attributed the diseases to unqualified breeds.
Phan Thanh Sang, chairman of the Dalat Flower Association, stressed that the association would work with farmers, traders, transportation firms, market management boards and flower shops to work out solutions to the problem.
Local farmers should apply technology to growing and preserving flowers to avoid vulnerability to natural conditions, Tran Huy Duong, director of Langbiang Co., Ltd, which specializes in producing hi-tech flowers and vegetables in Dalat, advised.
