Many flower markets open early and are deserted.
From January 25 (the 15th day of the 12th lunar month), the Giap Thin Tet flower market along Ben Binh Dong (District 8, Ho Chi Minh City) officially began and lasted until the 30th day of the Lunar New Year. This is one of the earliest official spring flower markets in the city. The spring flower market recreates the space of "on the wharf, under the boat" typical of the Southern river region. This year, Ben Binh Dong Tet flower market gathers flowers from the land of thousands of flowers Da Lat, Cho Lach flower village (Ben Tre)... with many types of ornamental flowers. Notably, there are pots of yellow dragon fruit (Vinh Long), pink tangerines (Dong Thap) and especially the red ceramic art street of Vinh Long... The market has a scale of 654 stalls selling fruits, vegetables, tubers, fruits and ornamental plants.
This year, Tet apricot gardeners in Binh Chanh focus on affordable products.
Besides the spring flower market, in many places, Tet ornamental flowers have been sold earlier than previous years (starting a few weeks ago) on Thanh Thai - Bac Hai, Le Hong Phong (District 10), Mai Chi Tho, Pham Van Dong (Thu Duc City), Nguyen Huu Tho (District 7) streets... In the Thanh Thai - Bac Hai area, in the past few days, all kinds of ornamental flowers have been transported ready to serve Tet, from Dien grapefruit, kumquat, apricot, peach, orchid, chrysanthemum, rose to bonsai of all kinds. Although the spring colors are brilliant in a corner of the street, the number of customers visiting flower shops is still deserted because most of them are still busy with their year-end livelihood.
According to a survey by Thanh Nien , the prices of some Tet flowers this year are quite "soft". Specifically, traditional yellow raspberry chrysanthemums cost 120,000 VND/pot, super bud roses cost 45,000 VND/pot, little sister roses cost 35,000 VND/pot, gerbera daisies cost 60,000 VND/pot, marigolds cost 50,000 VND/pot, tiger chrysanthemums cost 40,000 VND/pot...
On Thanh Thai Street (District 10), Tet ornamental flowers have been blooming brightly since the beginning of December, but purchasing power is still weak at this time.
Mr. Tran Tan Hung, representative of a shop on Thanh Thai Street, said: The Tet flower market is really bustling only about 1 week before Tet. That is the time when people shop to prepare for Tet. However, in recent years, flower shops here often import Tet flowers about a month earlier. Currently, they mainly serve customers such as companies, restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, etc. to decorate for Tet. Besides, importing flowers early is also a form of product promotion.
"During the first Tet holiday after the Covid-19 pandemic, the consumption market was very good, but last year it was completely opposite when people started saving more. This year the market is even more difficult, so we only dare to import a moderate quantity to test the waters. And up to this point, there have been no positive signs. The average price of ornamental flowers is about 150,000 - 180,000 VND/pot, while the average price of ornamental plants, bonsai, and Tet apricot trees is from 3 - 5 million VND/pot... In general, the average price level has decreased by 20 - 25% compared to last year's Tet holiday. The most valuable ornamental plants in the store here are only 20 - 30 million VND", Mr. Hung informed.
Similarly, according to Mr. Cao Van Thang, owner of Cao Thang pine garden (Thu Duc city), ornamental plants are luxury goods, so when the economy is difficult, this item is most heavily affected. To adapt, the store has proactively reduced the quantity of imported goods to prepare for Tet by about 30% and the price has also decreased significantly compared to before. Specifically, small Dien grapefruit used to cost about 4 - 5 million VND/tree, but now it is only 3.5 - 4 million VND/tree. Other types have also decreased accordingly and even high-value types have decreased even more. "Although the price has decreased quite sharply, the market is still very sluggish in terms of both buyers and renters," said Mr. Thang.
Many Dien grapefruit gardens on Mai Chi Tho Street (Thu Duc City) proactively reduce prices early to attract customers.
Gardeners everywhere reduce quantity and lower prices
Even in famous flower villages in Ho Chi Minh City such as Binh Loi yellow apricot village (Binh Chanh), Hoc Mon, Thu Duc... many gardeners are also restless. The common concern of gardeners is that this year the weather is unfavorable, the apricot blossoms bloom early, so many high-quality products have "missed the beat" to welcome spring. Few beautiful products will give players more reasons to limit spending when their wallets are not full.
Mr. Bui Ngoc Duc, owner of Huu Duc apricot garden, said that if last year, the average price of a Tet apricot pot was 500,000 VND, this year it has decreased to only about 300,000 - 400,000 VND depending on the quality. "Due to economic difficulties, we will not focus on high-value products but will focus on the popular segment, mini bonsai apricot and renting apricot for Tet display. In addition to selling wholesale to traders and participating in the city's spring flower markets, this year we will expand to the Northern market, neighboring provinces and sell online," said Mr. Duc.
Mr. Nguyen Van Kim, owner of Van Giau apricot garden, recalled that in previous years, the garden supplied the market with 2,000 - 3,000 apricot trees at an average price of 500,000 - 700,000 VND. Before the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, most of the apricot trees were sold out, but since the beginning of the season, many traders have come and asked and left, very few have closed orders. "This year's consumption is likely to decrease by nearly half," Mr. Kim worried.
In one of the most famous flower villages in the West, Cai Mon (Cho Lach, Ben Tre), Dr. Bui Thanh Liem, Head of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Cho Lach District, said: The total output of ornamental flowers in the locality for Tet this year is over 8 million products of all kinds. Because ornamental flowers are not essential goods, in the current difficult economic context, many people are willing to cut spending on this item. To promote the market and increase recognition for Cai Mon ornamental flowers, the locality has recently coordinated with departments as well as KOLs in Ho Chi Minh City to organize online sales. In addition, to increase purchasing power, most types of ornamental flowers are proactively reduced in price by about 1/3 compared to previous years. With a series of efforts to promote consumption, it is hoped that gardeners will sell out all of this year's Tet flower crop.
Similarly, in the Pho Tho - Ba Bo ornamental flower area (Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City), many gardeners have proactively reduced the quantity by up to 50%. Mr. Doan Huu Bon, Deputy Head of the Pho Tho - Ba Bo ornamental flower craft village, predicted that purchasing power would decrease this year, so the quantity was reduced. Mr. Bon's family also only planted more than 1,200 pots of various Tet flowers, most of which were produced according to orders from units, especially tourist areas, to serve the Tet decoration work.
From the current situation, it can be seen that reducing quantity, reducing prices and focusing on the popular segment is the common trend of many flower and ornamental gardeners this year.
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