High selling price, people in Nghe An rose 'warehouse' still regret

The family of Ms. Ho Thi Thanh in Hamlet 8, Nam Anh Commune (Nam Dan) owns 50 rose bushes that are 10-15 years old. This year, due to crop failure, each rose bush that bears fruit, if harvested, will only yield 30-40kg of fruit. Ms. Thanh said: “In a good year, each rose bush yields 70-80kg of fruit, with prices ranging from 15,000-20,000 VND/kg, earning the family hundreds of millions of VND. This is our main source of income.”

Many households have suffered from poor persimmon harvests, with yields only reaching 20-30% compared to years of good harvests. Mr. Tran Hoai Nam's family in Hamlet 4, Nam Anh Commune has over 100 persimmon trees that have produced fruit, of which about 60% are in their prime, but this year, due to many factors, persimmon yields have still dropped sharply. Some trees have seen a 70% reduction in fruit.

Mr. Nam said: “In previous years, October and November were the peak harvest times, with an estimated yield of 6-7 tons of persimmons. This year, the crop failed badly, with some trees bearing small, ugly fruits, as if there was no harvest, with the most productive trees only yielding 20-30kg of fruit.”

If in Nam Anh - the capital of Nam Dan rose-pickled roses, where there are many ancient rose roots that are up to a century old, then in Nam Xuan, with over 50 hectares of roses in the strongest growth and development period, the phenomenon of crop failure is also common.

“In a good harvest year, at this time, entering the garden, you will see only a bright yellow color, the persimmon tree is full of fruit, hanging all over. This year, the fruit is sparse, the crop is bad,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Tam, the owner of a persimmon grower in Xuan Son hamlet (Nam Xuan).

Crop failure is a common situation for thousands of persimmon growing households in Nam Dan. According to preliminary statistics, the number of persimmon growing households in Nam Anh and Nam Xuan communes is about 1,500 households, with an area of ​​about 300 hectares, of which Nam Anh commune has the largest area. The main persimmon varieties in Nam Dan are persimmon and egg persimmon.

The reason for the poor persimmon crop this year is explained by the people as being due to unfavorable weather factors. At the beginning of the year, when the persimmon trees were in bloom, there was prolonged rain, causing the flowers to fall; during the fruit-bearing stage, there was prolonged drought, causing the persimmons to be small. In addition, in recent years, fruit flies have attacked persimmons when the fruit is about to ripen, causing them to rot and fall off. In addition, many persimmon trees are old and have degenerated varieties, so their productivity has also decreased sharply.

Many rose gardens that serve tourists do not harvest the fruit, leaving it hanging on the tree to serve as a service for visitors to visit, experience, and take photos. Some gardens leave the red ripe fruit on the tree until January, the rose trees do not have time to “hibernate”, so the next season, the trees will have less fruit.

Due to the poor harvest and sharp decline in output, this year the price of persimmons is quite high. Currently, the price of persimmons purchased by traders at the garden ranges from 18,000-20,000 VND/kg for persimmons, 30,000-35,000 VND/kg for egg persimmons, 5,000-7,000 VND/kg higher than last year.

Mr. Tran Van Hoa, a trader who specializes in purchasing roses for distribution to the market, said: “This year’s rose crop is poor, so purchasing is also difficult. The price of roses is high, but people do not have enough output to supply, especially, there are not many rose gardens with beautiful designs to choose from.

Although the season has only been in full swing for half a month, the persimmon supply among the people has already run out. Many agents who have placed orders in advance have had to return deposits because they do not have enough goods. If in previous years, the persimmon output of Nam Anh commune alone was up to 300-400 tons, this year, after the season ends, it will only reach 100 tons.