Tet ornamental plant transportation service is less exciting

Every year, around Tet, Mr. Nguyen Trung Nghia from Nghi Trung Commune, Nghi Loc District, rushes to Vinh on his motorbike to transport ornamental plants for hire to customers. In previous years, from mid-December, the number of people hiring to transport plants increased, with Mr. Nghia receiving an average of 5-7 trips per day. But this year, this job has been quiet.

Mr. Nghia said: My main job is farming, every time Tet is coming, I often go to Vinh to help transport flowers and ornamental plants, for nearly 10 years now. However, this year, the number of people hired has decreased sharply. I go to Vinh for nearly a week but only make 1-2 trips a day, and I transport within the inner city, the distance is short so the transportation fee is not high. I calculate that I only earn a few hundred thousand dong a day, just enough for gas, food, and the cost of leaving early and returning late.

Not only Mr. Nghia, but this is also the common concern of many seasonal workers who work as a bonsai transporter this year. According to records, the number of bonsai imported this year has decreased compared to previous years, and the business space has also been narrowed. In addition, due to economic difficulties, people have tightened their spending, so shopping has also decreased. Orders for bonsai transport have also become less exciting.

Mr. Phan Huu Binh, a freight transporter in Vinh City, said: This year, not only has the number of ornamental plants decreased, but the number of seasonal workers has increased, making competition more and more fierce. If customers buy large, valuable trees, they hire trucks and cranes to bring them home. For small trees, many customers also transport them themselves on motorbikes or put them in the trunk of their cars. Therefore, we, the cyclo drivers, do not have as many people hiring us to transport ornamental plants as in previous years.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, owner of a bonsai shop on Le Nin Avenue, said: This year, we imported more than 1,000 kumquat trees and 200 peach trees. In previous years, when there were customers, I hired people to transport the trees for customers in individual orders. However, this created many problems because it took time to find people and the prices offered by each person were different. Therefore, this year, I hired 2 people to transport bonsai trees at a fixed cost of 8 million VND/person during Tet to be proactive in the work, not hiring outside like previous years.

It is known that the profession of transporting ornamental plants is one of the hot seasonal jobs during Tet. According to the survey, the rental price is divided into segments. For large, valuable ornamental plants, it is necessary to rent a crane or truck, which will cost from 500 - 1 million VND/trip within Vinh city and surrounding areas. If going to distant districts, it will depend on the negotiation between the customer and the transporter. For smaller ornamental plants, people often rent a motorbike taxi, cyclo... with a fee of 100,000 - 500,000 VND depending on the location. This amount of money is completely worth the effort they put in, because to have such an income, the workers also have to stay up late and wake up early, always ready when customers need it at any time, even transporting on cold, rainy nights.

Although it is a hot job during Tet, this job also requires many factors. Transporters must be hard-working, able to withstand time pressure and, most importantly, careful and meticulous. In many cases, due to haste to deliver other trips, ornamental plants lose flowers, fruits, and buds on the way, and when delivered to customers, the plants are no longer as beautiful as before. People who work as ornamental plant transporters must be in good health to be able to load the plants onto the truck, unload them, and bring them to customers' homes. Not to mention knowing how to use Google Maps to deliver the plants to the right location.

This year, the flower and ornamental plant market is somewhat quieter, so those who transport ornamental plants are looking forward to the days before Tet, especially the official Tet holidays, when people will shop more, helping the market to flourish, increasing the demand for transportation so that workers can have a "warmer" Tet.