Flower villages in Nghe An are bustling to welcome Tet
(Baonghean.vn) - This time is considered the final stage for gardeners to step up the care of their flowers and import flowers from other places to sell during Tet. This year, the winter has been unusual, so flower and ornamental plant growers and traders are both "waiting" for the weather and market developments.
Business people "waiting" for the market
These days, going to flower and ornamental plant villages such as Kim Chi, Kim Phuc (Nghi An), Trung Lien (Nghi Lien) or along streets specializing in flowers and ornamental plants such as: Lenin Avenue, Xo Viet Nghe Tinh... one can see the busy, urgent atmosphere.
Flower and ornamental plant growers have imported Tet flowers from all over to serve the needs of the people. Trucks carrying Binh Dinh yellow apricots, primroses, dahlias, gerberas, Da Lat hydrangeas, Dong Thap raspberry chrysanthemums, Hung Yen kumquats, Nhat Tan peaches, etc. arrived at Vinh port to unload their goods.
Ms. Vo Thi Thuy Hang - owner of a flower and ornamental plant garden in Nghi An commune (Vinh city) said: “Since the end of November 2023, I have been to famous flower growing areas across the country to survey prices, select quality flower gardens to deposit in advance. By January 2024, I will import goods for sale. This year, the amount of imported goods is very diverse, with a full range of flower types and prices, serving different customer groups. In the past 3 months, the amount of goods sold has increased sharply due to the high demand for renovating campuses, arranging and completing projects”.
For many years now, as the area of flower gardens has shrunk, people in flower and ornamental plant craft villages on the outskirts of Vinh have switched to flower and ornamental plant trading, mainly importing flowers from other places to domesticate, care for, prune, and shape to supply the market.
Mr. Hoang Oai - owner of a flower and ornamental plant dealer in Nghi An commune said: "Our garden mainly imports goods from other places to supply to level 2 dealers and retailers at the markets. This year, the economy is difficult, and we are worried about weak purchasing power, so we are selling while waiting for market developments. We do not import goods en masse but divide them into many different batches."
Only selling seasonal flowers and ornamental plants during holidays and Tet, starting from December, Ms. Mai Hien - the owner of a flower and ornamental plant shop in Vinh City has gone to flower villages in Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Hung Yen to choose flowers that suit consumer tastes to import and sell for Tet.
“Currently, the demand for fresh flowers is increasing. However, it will not be overwhelming during the Lunar New Year, but people tend to buy flowers from the solar New Year to the lunar New Year. Accordingly, we must grasp the tastes of consumers to supply. Before Tet, there are mainly popular flowers, cheap segments such as mini peach blossoms, mini kumquats, mini potted chrysanthemums... until Tet, there are mainly peach branches, purple peach blossoms, driftwood orchids, tulips, double lilies... This year, prices have fluctuated little, not increasing compared to last year. However, due to economic difficulties, people will also save on shopping. Before importing goods, we surveyed customers' needs, based on the number of pre-orders to get suitable goods" - Ms. Hien said.
Grower“wait”weather
To serve the Lunar New Year market this year, Mr. Pham Trung Kien in Mau 1 hamlet, Kim Lien commune (Nam Dan) planted 1,000 pots of lilies of various kinds and 15,000 chrysanthemums. This year, the weather is quite erratic, so taking care of the flowers is difficult, especially "picking" the flowers to bloom on Tet.
“The warm sun and cold rain alternate and are unexpected, so taking care of the flowers is quite difficult. Therefore, while focusing on fertilizing, weeding, hilling, topping, pruning, and covering buds, we also have to closely follow the weather forecast to make appropriate adjustments. If it is cold, we use lights to stimulate buds; if the sun lasts long, we have to use a cover to slow down the blooming of the flowers. There is still a month left until Tet, but at this time, traders have come to the garden to see the flowers and place deposits for various types of flowers,” said Mr. Kien.
Although in recent years, the flower and ornamental plant market for Tet has had many new products, not to mention many imported flowers, peach blossom growers in Nghe An are not worried about the output. Because compared to other flowers, peach blossom is still the typical flower that almost every family displays during Tet.
In particular, Nghe An peach blossoms have their own beauty and durability, surpassing peach blossoms grown in other regions. “We are not worried about output or price competition, but the most worrying thing is that this year’s weather is quite unusual. If the warm weather continues until Tet, the peach blossoms are likely to bloom earlier than expected,” said Nguyen Van Phu, a peach grower in Kim Thanh (Yen Thanh).
Sharing the same concern about early blooming, lily growers in Nghi Long commune (Nghi Loc) are now taking care of the flowers while also "watching" the weather to adjust the appropriate care. The more complicated the weather is, the harder it is to take care of the flowers. At this time, we have to watch the weather every day to adjust from watering, fertilizing, adjusting the greenhouse temperature appropriately so that the flowers bloom in time for Tet," said Mr. Tran Quoc Tuan - a lily grower in Kim Nghia hamlet, Nghi Long commune (Nghi Loc).
