Seed prices increase dramatically, Nghe An flower growers face difficulties during Tet season

These days, Ms. Le Thi Van, Trung Lien hamlet, Nghi Lien commune (Vinh city) is busy with the work of taking care of her children.Tet flowersBesides planting seeds from the beginning of the 10th lunar month, her family is repairing and installing a lighting system so that the flowers grow well and bloom in time for Tet.

Gardeners in Vinh City have begun supplying flower varieties for Tet. Photo: Nguyen Chau

Ms. Van said: "My family grows over 6,000 yellow and multi-colored chrysanthemums to serve the Tet market. This year, the weather is more severe, especially the recent heavy rains and floods, which have significantly affected the soil quality. Therefore, the planting time has also been delayed, and the price of flower seeds and materials has also increased, causing the family to spend twice as much as last year."

According to the people, for the breedchrysanthemum, the most consumed flower during Tet this year, costs 45,000 VND/100 plants while in 2019 it only fluctuated at 30,000 - 35,000 VND/100 plants. For other flower varieties such as dahlias, lilies, primroses... the price also increased by about 30% compared to previous years.

Ms. Le Thi Van, Nghi Lien commune, proactively installed a lighting system for the Tet chrysanthemum garden. Photo: Nguyen Chau

Mr. Le Van Duc, one of the seed suppliersTet flowersin Vinh City said that the reason for the high price of flower seeds is the unfavorable weather this year, especially the flood in early November that damaged many nurseries and forced them to replant. In addition, it is now the beginning of the Tet flower season, the purchasing power of the market has increased because gardeners and households want to select good varieties, which has pushed up the price of flower seeds.

Prices of flower varieties have increased this year, causing input costs for flower growers to rise. Photo: Nguyen Chau

Not only facing the situation of increasing flower seeds, flower growers this year also encounter many difficulties when stages such as soil improvement, water treatment, building greenhouses, installing lighting systems... also require higher costs.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Sam, communeNghi Ansaid: "My family planted 15,000 chrysanthemums this year, more than last year, so the number of light bulbs had to increase from 150 to nearly 400, the total investment cost for this flower crop has increased by about 12 million VND compared to last year."

People in the flower area in Vinh City actively take care of Tet flowers. Photo: Nguyen Chau

Besides the increase in input costs, Tet flower growers are currently worried about the strong fluctuations in the market and the decrease in purchasing power. According to people in the flower regions, at the beginning of December every year, people come to see and order flowers and ornamental plants for Tet, but this year they are completely absent.

According to garden owners, the reason is that the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters have significantly affected people's income. In addition, many activities, events, and festivals have also been suspended, so it is expected that this year's Tet flower consumption will be worse...