The service of transporting ornamental plants for Tet (Lunar New Year) is not very active.

Every year, as Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, Mr. Nguyen Trung Nghia from Nghi Trung commune, Nghi Loc district, rushes to Vinh on his motorbike to transport ornamental plants for hire. In previous years, from mid-December onwards, the number of people hiring him to transport plants increased significantly, with Mr. Nghia averaging 5-7 trips per day. But this year, the work has been significantly quieter.

Mr. Nghia said: "My main job is farming, but every year as Tet approaches, I usually go to Vinh to help transport flowers and ornamental plants. I've been doing this for almost 10 years now. However, this year the number of people hiring me has decreased sharply. I've been in Vinh for almost a week, but I only get 1-2 trips a day, and I only transport within the city limits, so the transportation fees aren't high. On average, I only earn a few hundred thousand dong a day, just enough to cover gas, food, and my time working long hours."

This is not just Mr. Nghia's concern, but also the shared worry of many seasonal workers who transport ornamental plants for hire this year. According to observations, the number of ornamental plants imported this year has decreased compared to previous years, and business space has also shrunk. In addition, due to the difficult economic situation, people are tightening their spending, so shopping has also decreased. Consequently, orders for transporting ornamental plants for hire are less active.

Mr. Phan Huu Binh, a hired transporter in Vinh City, said: "This year, not only has the number of ornamental plants decreased, but the number of seasonal workers has increased, leading to increasingly fierce competition. Customers who buy large, high-value plants have hired trucks or cranes to transport them. For smaller plants, many customers transport them themselves on motorbikes or in the trunks of their cars. Therefore, we motorbike and rickshaw drivers don't have as many clients transporting ornamental plants as in previous years."

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong, owner of a plant shop on Le Nin Boulevard, said: "This year, we imported over 1,000 kumquat trees and 200 peach trees. In previous years, when customers bought plants, I hired people to transport them individually. However, this created many problems because it was time-consuming to find people, and each person's price varied. Therefore, this year I hired two people to transport the plants on a fixed basis at a cost of 8 million VND per person during the Tet holiday month to be more proactive and avoid hiring people individually like in previous years."

It is known that transporting ornamental plants is one of the popular seasonal jobs during Tet (Lunar New Year). According to surveys, the rental price is divided into segments. For large, high-value plants, hiring a crane or truck costs from 500,000 to 1 million VND per trip within Vinh city and surrounding areas. For trips to more distant districts, the price depends on negotiation between the customer and the transporter. For smaller plants, people usually hire handcarts or rickshaws, with fees ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 VND depending on the location. This income is entirely justified, as those in this profession have to work late into the night and wake up early in the morning, always ready to serve customers at any time, even transporting plants in the cold and rainy night.

Although it's a popular job during Tet (Lunar New Year), this work also requires many qualities. Transporters must be hardworking, able to withstand time pressure, and above all, careful and meticulous. There are many cases where, due to rushing to meet other delivery deadlines, the plants lose their flowers, fruits, and buds along the way, resulting in the plants no longer looking their best when delivered to customers. Those who work as plant transporters need to be in good health to be able to load, unload, and deliver the plants directly to customers' homes. Not to mention, they must know how to use Google Maps to deliver the plants to the correct location.

This year, the market for flowers and ornamental plants is somewhat quieter. Therefore, those who transport ornamental plants are eagerly awaiting the days leading up to Tet, especially the official Tet holiday period, when people will shop more, helping the market to flourish and increasing transportation demand so that workers can have a more comfortable Tet holiday.

Quang An