Grains plummet in price, leaving farmers bitterly disappointed and suffering huge losses.
Many flower growers are in a difficult situation due to the "bitterly disappointing" price of gladiolus flowers. Currently, the selling price of gladiolus has plummeted from 30,000 VND/plant to less than 15,000 VND/plant, leaving many households disheartened by the disappointing gladiolus harvest.
Poor sales have left many farmers in An Phu commune, Pleiku city (Gia Lai province) unable to prepare for Tet (Lunar New Year) because they are worried about paying off debts…
It was thought that this year's gladiolus season would be more prosperous because it started earlier than before, but the joy is not there because prices have plummeted. Specifically, in some gladiolus gardens in Hamlet 3, An Phu Commune, the flowers have been harvested for sale during the full moon of the twelfth lunar month but are only selling for 15,000 VND per plant, whereas previously gladiolus was priced at up to 30,000 VND per plant.
This year, the price of gladiolus has plummeted, leaving many farmers disheartened as they prepare for harvest.
Mr. Tran Thanh Hien (35 years old, residing in Hamlet 3, An Phu Commune) sadly said: “Every season is so depressing. I don't know if I should continue growing these gladiolus flowers because when there's a good harvest, the price drops, and when the price is high, the harvest is poor. The total cost for over one sao (approximately 1000 square meters) has already reached about 20 million dong, not including labor costs. If the price were 30,000 dong per plant, one sao of gladiolus could bring in 50-60 million dong, but this year I'm afraid I won't even get 30 million because the price has dropped by half. That would be a huge loss; there's no way to make a profit, especially since a gladiolus crop takes 80 days to harvest…”
These gladiolus plants with large, uniform blooms only cost 15,000 VND.
Last year, the crop failed because the gladiolus bloomed late, so this year Mr. Hien and his mother planned to plant early, but it was no use, and they had to reluctantly sell their gladiolus garden at 15,000 VND per plant. According to the reporter's observations, at this time, some gladiolus gardens in Hamlet 3 have quite low prices, but because they planted early to be ready for the Mid-Autumn Festival, they had to reluctantly accept the price of 15,000 VND per plant.
Disillusioned with gladiolus, Mr. Hien is planning to grow a different type of flower to sell during Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year).
"The price drop might be due to the weather and oversupply. Many gardeners thought this year's weather was favorable, so they planted more seeds. This led to a price drop because of the large quantity of imported flowers," Mr. Hien added.
On the other hand, some gardeners in Hamlet 9 are anxious because the price of gladiolus is constantly fluctuating. Accordingly, many gardeners who planted later are hoping for a more "favorable" price. With 2,000 square meters of gladiolus, Mr. Tran Huong (Hamlet 9, An Phu Commune) is also placing his hopes on this year's Tet flower crop.
If the price is 30,000 VND per plant, one sao (approximately 1000 square meters) of gladiolus flowers can yield a profit of nearly 60 million VND.
"Last year, all 2,000 square meters of gladiolus flowers didn't bloom until the 29th of Tet (Lunar New Year), resulting in significant losses. In ten years of growing flowers, last year was the first time I'd encountered such a late blooming situation... This year, I don't know what will happen. Some gardens are selling at very low prices now, and our garden here was planted later, so we don't know what the prices will be like. We hope the prices will increase by Tet, otherwise we'll just lose money again...", Mr. Huong confided.
