There are still two days left until Tet but many vendors at the Quang Ngai Tet flower market have already put up "clearance sale" signs. The lack of buyers has left vendors feeling like they are sitting on hot coals.
On the 27th of Tet, Mr. Sang hung a sign "selling 280k" but still could not sell the mini apricot blossoms he brought to the market - Photo: TRAN MAI
On January 26 (December 27), the Quang Ngai Tet flower market (Ngoc Bao Vien urban area, Quang Ngai city) was still sparsely populated. There are still two days left until Tet, but the market is still full of trees and flowers for Tet decoration.
Tet flowers are slow to sell, with few buyers
Many experienced Tet flower sellers confirm that this is the slowest Tet ever. Many people come to ask for prices and then leave, but very few actually buy.
The areas selling chrysanthemums, marigolds, kumquats, and apricots were all "filled with goods". To save the situation, many stalls hung up "clearance sale" and "same price" signs, but they still couldn't sell.
Mr. Sang, who has many years of experience selling miniature apricot blossoms during Tet, said he bought 400 pots from Binh Dinh to sell at the Quang Ngai Tet flower market. So far, he has sold nearly 30 pots.
"Last year during Tet, I brought 1,000 mini apricot pots to the Quang Ngai Tet flower market to sell. By the 27th of Tet, I had sold more than 900 trees. This year, knowing the economic difficulties, I only brought 400 trees but they still didn't sell well. I've been selling apricot trees for Tet for more than 10 years, and they've never been as unsold as this year," said Mr. Sang.
Currently, Mr. Sang has hung a sign "280k/pot" to collect every penny and celebrate.
Mr. Sang added, "These apricot pots are sold for 400,000 - 500,000 VND/pot to make a profit. Selling for 280,000 VND/pot means recovering the original price, accepting the loss of transportation, unloading and all-night formula."
According to many people, the reason for the sluggish business comes from the fact that the Quang Ngai Tet flower market, which is usually on Pham Van Dong Street, has moved to Ngoc Bao Vien urban area this year. The flower market is divided into many streets, making it even more difficult.
Two more days until Tet but the market is still full of apricots, sellers are "waiting" for buyers - Photo: TRAN MAI
There are still a lot of kumquats, buyers just ask the price and then leave - Photo: TRAN MAI
Clearance sale from 27th of Tet, never seen before
Hanging up clearance signs since the 27th of Tet is an unprecedented event at Quang Ngai flower market, although this year most sellers did not haggle but told the real price early.
Mr. Pham Van Sang (Binh Dinh) sighed and said, "Now I don't expect any profit, just getting back a little capital is already good. Every year by this time, I would have sold at least half, this year I have only sold 10 pots. So frustrating."
Mr. Sang said that his family grows Tet apricot flowers professionally, only choosing the most dedicated pots to sell during Tet. All of them bloom at the right time, but the price of 3 million - 8 million VND/pot seems too high compared to people's income this year, so people come to see and then... leave.
Not only apricot blossoms but also kumquat and chrysanthemums are lacking buyers. Even though there are discount signs, buyers still continue to bargain.
Compared to the price of chrysanthemums sold in the garden in the central region's chrysanthemum capital that reporters recorded before Tet, the price at the market is only slightly higher by about 30,000 VND - 50,000 VND/pot. Adding transportation and sales costs... Tet flower sellers are actually recovering capital instead of making a profit.
"Mai flowers at the same price of 900k", the owner hangs a sign hoping buyers will come and choose - Photo: TRAN MAI
Mr. Tu (Quang Ngai City) said he imported 300 chrysanthemum pots to sell for Tet. So far he has sold 50 pots. He is currently selling them at the same price as buying them at the garden but the situation is still "as deserted as a deserted temple".
Similarly, Mr. Le imported 70 kumquat pots from Hoi An to sell. So far, he has only sold 11 pots. "Hopefully, they will all be sold in the next two days, otherwise, we won't be able to think about Tet anymore. I don't understand why it's so quiet," Mr. Le said.
On the afternoon of December 27, cold air swept in, Quang Ngai began to have rain, the Tet flower market became even more gloomy. Many flower sellers began to cover their tents to cope with the rain, staying at the market until New Year's Eve hoping to recoup their capital.
Hundreds of pots of apricot blossoms are blooming in the field but there are too few buyers - Photo: TRAN MAI
Tet flower sellers are exhausted because of weak purchasing power at Quang Ngai Tet flower market - Photo: TRAN MAI
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/27-thang-chap-da-xa-hang-cho-hoa-tet-quang-ngai-van-vang-nguoi-mua-20250126150313837.htm
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