Flower farmers prepare for Tet holiday market

Farmers in Sa Dec Flower Village in Dong Thap Province are taking care of their flowers for the upcoming Tet holiday.-VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Van Tri

In the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, about 1,500ha of different types of flowers for Tet markets are being grown in Da Lat City.

Of the figure, more than 540 hectares of daisies are planted mostly in flower villages such as Thai Phien in Ward 12, Ha Dong in Ward 8, and Xuan Thanh and Xuan Tho communes in the city.

The farmers have also begun to plant about 321 hectares of roses, 154 hectares of gladiolus flowers, 120 hectares of lisianthus, 75 hectares of lilies, 35 hectares of boat orchids and 260 hectares of other flowers

Hundreds of hectares of various flowers have been planted in the city’s Duc Trong and Lac Duong districts, including about 300ha of gladiolus in Hiep An Flower Village in Duc Trong District.

Many local farmers said the weather in recent months had been favourable for the development of flowers.

Earlier, many flower businesses imported tens of millions of high-quality seedlings to serve local farmers’ growing demand.

In the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre, farmer growers in Cho Lach District have produced more than 10 million products of flowers and ornamental trees to meet demand of Tet markets, making a year-on-year increase of 15 per cent.

Bui Thanh Liem, head of the district’s Agricultural and Rural Development Sub-department, said this year local farmers had mainly produced flowers according to the orders of traders.

About 6,000 households are growing more than 650 hectares of flowers and ornamental trees, mostly in Long Thoi, Tan Thieng, Hoa Nghia, Vinh Thanh, Phu Son and Hung Khanh Trung B communes.

There are many kinds of potted flowers, hanging flowers and ornamental plant pots such as yellow ochna flower, bougainvillea flower and bonsai citrus trees.

Nguyen Thi Nga in Vinh Thanh Commune said her family had produced more than 100,000 flowers and ornamental trees for Tet which were mostly ordered from traders before. “Only 30 per cent will sell at local markets.”

“We actively sell our products and do not depend on market demand like in previous years,” she said.

Establishments making pots used for flowers and ornamental trees are also busy meeting demand of flower growers as Tet draws near.

According to Vo Van Hung, owner of a production establishment in Vinh Long Province’s Tam Binh District, the peak production time usually falls between the ninth and 12th lunar months.

Each year, his family produces about 1,000 pots including different types of various sizes. Most of the products are sold to flower growers in the Mekong Delta region.

His establishment now has five workers with an average monthly salary of VND4.5-5 million (US$193-215) per person, increasing of about 20 per cent on days near Tet.

Le Ba Thanh, owner of an establishment in Cho Lach District’s Phú Phụng Commune in Ben Tre Province, said this year the demand of market for pots is increasing significantly, especially for pots of bonsai trees.

Ha Van Kha, an owner of a flower shop in HCM City, said he preferred cement and clay pots made in Chợ Lách because they had good quality at reasonable prices.

He often orders pots around three months before Tet.

Depending on the size, the price of a cement pot is from VND110,000 ($4.7), VND130,000 ($5.6), or VND440,000 ($18.9).

The demand is expected to rise 10 percent this year, while the price will rise by 7-10 percent of price compared to last year.

In Dong Thap Province, farmers in Sa Dec City’s Sa Dec Flower Village have planted more than three million flowers and ornamental trees.

The province’s centre for high-tech application in agricultural production has produced over 500,000 disease-free seedlings of various kinds of flowers.

More than 100ha of flowers and ornamental trees for Tet are being grown mostly in Tan Quy Dong Ward and Tan Khanh Dong Commune.

Flowers like chrysanthemums, daisies, marigolds and roses have been growing well.

Farmers in the village earn high incomes from selling flower seedlings to other local farmers and to neighbouring provinces.

Tran Van Ut Hung, a flower farmer in Tan Khanh Dong Commune, said he had grown over 6,000 seedlings per orders from farmers from Dong Thap, An Giang, Tien Giang, Vinh Long and Ben Tre provinces and Can Tho City.

After deducting costs, he earns a profit of VND200 million (US$8,578) from sold seedlings.

Tran Thanh Toan in Tan My Village in the city’s Tan Quy Dong Ward said he had planted about 12,000 flowers.

In previous years, his flowers sold both to local markets and to central and northern provinces.

Plumeria (also known as frangipani) planted in Sa Dec are exported abroad.

Hung Thy Flower enterprise, a local company, now annually exports about 30,000 to 50,000 plumeria trees to Taiwan and Middle Eastern countries.

Ten farmers grew and sold plumeria trees to the company.

The flower company has created jobs for nearly 100 local people, who earn about VND150,000-200,000 ($6.5-8.5) daily.

It also plans to export flower trees to other foreign markets such as Japan and South Korea.