Selling ornamental plants for Tet, some people lose half a billion dong, others cut down the trees

Selling ornamental plants for Tet, some people lose half a billion dong, others cut down the trees (Video: Thanh Tung).

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 1

Although there are only a few dozen hours left until Tet, the streets selling flowers, kumquats, and peach blossoms in Thanh Hoa city, Thanh Hoa province are still sparsely visited by customers. Many traders said that there has never been a year as sluggish as this year.

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 2

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 3

Walking along flower-selling streets such as Bui Khac Nhat (Dong Huong ward), Le Hoan street (Lam Son ward), Thanh Hoa city fair and exhibition area, Ho Nui Long urban area..., vendors all display signs of clearance sale, price reduction, and flat price.

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 4

"Like every year, on December 28, most of the goods are sold out, but this year is completely different, the number of customers is too sparse. This year, I brought 200 peach trees from Ninh Binh to Thanh Hoa to sell, but at this time I have only sold more than 50 trees," said Ms. Dao, a trader from Kim Son district, Ninh Binh province.

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 5

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 6

According to Ms. Dao, due to the low number of customers, the goods were unsold, although the price was 100,000 VND/tree, no one came to buy. On the morning of the 28th of Tet, Ms. Dao had to cut off the branches, bring the roots back to replant, accepting a loss of about 30 million VND.

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 7

Sharing the same situation as Ms. Dao, more than 1,000 kumquat trees and 300 peach trees of Mr. Truong Tien Hung (residing in Thanh Hoa city) are also in a state of unsaleable.

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 8

Mr. Hung said that on December 16, he started bringing 1,000 kumquat trees and 300 peach trees to sell. So far, he has only sold a few dozen kumquat trees and 20 peach trees, and Mr. Hung sadly pulled out the peach trees to celebrate Tet early.

"Every year, despite the epidemic, I still sell my products, but this year is too slow. At this point, I have confirmed that I have suffered heavy losses. Including the cost of hiring vendors, transportation, and selling locations, I estimate that this year I will lose about 600 million VND. If the trees do not improve by the morning of the 30th of Tet, I will have to accept cutting them down," said Mr. Hung.

Buôn cây cảnh Tết, người lỗ nửa tỷ đồng, người chặt bỏ cây - 9

At the exhibition area, the spring flower fair in Dong Hai ward, Thanh Hoa city is also in a state of sluggishness, with few customers coming to buy. Many small traders are fed up, do not want to stand to greet customers, and the trees are left in disarray.