Rain and wind batter flower market, traders worry about 'losing Tet'

Flower and ornamental plant traders in Nghe An are in dire straits as the weather turns rainy and windy on the eve of the Lunar New Year 2025.

Mưa gió quật tơi tả chợ hoa, tiểu thương lo 'mất Tết' - Ảnh 1. — Due to the influence of the cold air, the weather in Nghe An has been rainy and windy, causing damage to many Tet flower markets - Photo: DOAN HOA

At noon on January 26 (December 27), many areas in Nghe An experienced heavy rain and strong winds due to the influence of a strengthening cold front. This is also the time when people go to the Tet flower market to buy peach blossoms, kumquat trees, and ornamental plants for display.

In contrast to the bustling scene of buyers and sellers in previous days, walking around the flower markets in Vinh city, Do Luong district, Dien Chau... is a desolate scene.

Heavy rain and strong winds caused many ornamental trees to fall and be damaged. Most of the peach blossoms were crushed by the wind and rain, and kumquat trees lost their fruit.

Rushing out in the cold to re-erect many peach trees blown down by the wind, Mr. The Anh - 35 years old, living in Do Luong district, Nghe An - sadly said that he had never seen a year when Tet flower business was as sluggish as this year. Before Tet, Mr. The Anh and his friend pooled money to drive to a peach garden in the North to buy nearly 400 peach trees to sell.

According to Mr. Thế Anh, this year's peach blossom supply is scarce because many peach growing provinces were damaged by Typhoon Yagi and have not yet recovered, pushing up import prices. With an average selling price of 600,000 VND - 1 million VND/peach tree, over the past few days he has only sold less than half of his imported goods.

"If the weather is favorable, people will come to see the peach blossoms, but with the rain and wind like this, we are worried we won't be able to sell them and will lose money," said Mr. The Anh.

In the same situation, Vinh flower markets along Lenin Avenue, 72m Street, around Vinh Stadium... are also in a state of sluggishness even though it is already the 27th day of Tet. The heavy rain makes the traders feel like they are sitting on hot coals because they are worried about "losing Tet".

Some owners of apricot and peach blossom shops said that due to a clear decrease in people's purchasing power, they were worried about unsold goods and heavy losses, so they hung up signs to sell off their goods at cheap prices in the hope of recouping the original cost.

Images of Tet flower markets damaged by wind and rain shared on social media have received attention from the online community. Some groups with large followings have called for "rescue" to help small traders, who are doing well in business so they can "go home quickly to celebrate Tet".