Farmers face difficulties due to skyrocketing flower seed prices

The price of chrysanthemum seeds has increased sharply, some varieties have doubled compared to previous years. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Planting 1,000 lily bulbs to supply cut lilies to the market for the Lunar New Year of Quy Mao 2023, Mr. Nguyen Khac Tham (Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan) is preparing the land and planting seeds. At the same time, he also provides lily bulbs to people in need.

According to Mr. Tham, the price of flower seeds has increased quite strongly, especially lilies, which have increased by 40% compared to previous years. “If in 2022, each lily seed bulb cost 8,000-10,000 VND, now it has increased to 12,000-14,000 VND/bulb. The price of seed bulbs has increased, the price of fertilizer has also increased while the flower market is very unpredictable. Therefore, I only dare to plant 1,000 bulbs, the remaining area is mainly used to grow melons,” said Mr. Tham.

Lily bulbs also increased in price by 3,000-5,000 VND/bulb. Photo: Thanh Phuc

After two Tet flower crops (2021, 2022) due to concerns about the impact of the Covid 19 epidemic, farmers in flower growing areas in the province all reduced their acreage, but this year, many localities increased the acreage of flowers for Tet.

In addition to traditional flower growing areas such as Nghi Lien, Nghi An, Hung Dong, Dong Vinh (Vinh City), alluvial areas in Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan and the plain districts of Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, many mountainous localities have also planted chrysanthemums, dahlias, sunflowers in the fields to serve the Lunar New Year market. However, the current price of flower seeds is very high, causing difficulties for many gardeners.

High seed prices have led to many places reducing chrysanthemum growing areas. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Nguyen Thi Loi, a household specializing in growing Tet chrysanthemums in Yen Thanh town (Yen Thanh district) said: “The most I have grown is about 20,000 chrysanthemums of all kinds to serve the Lunar New Year. Never before has the price of chrysanthemum seeds increased as much as this year. Currently, nurseries in Hanoi are quoting prices for chrysanthemum seeds such as: orange chrysanthemums, large chrysanthemums, cup chrysanthemums, ruby ​​chrysanthemums, queen chrysanthemums... ranging from 55,000 - 65,000 VND/100 plants; an increase of one and a half times, even double that of last year. The price of chrysanthemum seeds has increased, labor costs have increased, and I am not sure how the market will develop this year, so I only dare to grow 2/3 of the flower area, the rest is to grow other vegetables.”

According to Mr. Tran Ngoc Quyet, a gardener in Trung My hamlet (Hung Dong commune, Vinh city) who specializes in supplying flower varieties to the markets of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, the market for flower varieties for Tet this year has skyrocketed. Of which, the strongest increase is in chrysanthemums.

In addition to high seed prices, flower growers this year are also facing many difficulties due to unfavorable weather. Photo: Thanh Phuc

The main reason is that the weather in the past months has been unfavorable, many nurseries have been affected by storms and rain, so they have had to stop production. Like nurseries in Nam Dinh, this year, there is not enough chrysanthemum seeds to supply the market, so we have to import from other northern provinces and some from Da Lat and Sa Dec.

Besides, the high transportation cost since the peak of gasoline price has not decreased yet, significantly affecting the price of flower seedlings.

In the 2022 Tet season, many gardeners "won big" when flowers increased in price but still "sold out". However, this year, the Tet flower market is very unpredictable. Photo: Thanh Phuc

Not only are flower growers facing difficulties due to high seed prices and rising input costs, but they are also facing many other difficulties. First of all, the unfavorable weather conditions, with continuous rain and storms occurring since the end of September, have caused the flower-growing land to be flooded and waterlogged. Many areas are now wet and mushy, making it impossible to grow flowers. Some planted areas have experienced prolonged heavy rain, causing the flowers to be submerged in water, resulting in their roots being suffocated and making it difficult for them to grow.

Many gardeners have implemented a plan to plant in different seasons, diversifying flower types to serve the market. Photo: Thanh Phuc

To cope with the high price of flower seeds while the Tet flower market is forecast to be unpredictable, many professional gardeners have considered the option of planting in different seasons, while diversifying the types of flowers to meet consumer demand.

Thanh Phuc