In the flower-growing region of Da Lat, people are accustomed to organizing large-scale production, balancing domestic consumption and exports - Photo: MV
When Hasfarm Holdings – the parent company of Dalat Hasfarm – completed the acquisition of 100% of Lynch Group (a listed flower business on the Australian stock exchange) on December 9, 2025, the market witnessed an impressive figure: approximately AUD 270 million (equivalent to over VND 4.5 trillion). Dalat residents once again heard the profound story of the Dalat flower region, beginning with an "expedition" by farmers from Bac Ha.
From 35 people from Ha Dong to the flower region of Da Lat.
According to the Da Lat Gazetteer, the story of Da Lat's flower industry began with a major migration in 1936. At that time, under the influence of the Governor-General of Ha Dong, Hoang Trong Phu, and the Da Lat District Administrator, Tran Van Ly, 35 outstanding residents from famous craft villages around West Lake (such as Quang Ba, Tay Tuu, Ngoc Ha...) decided to leave their hometowns and move south to establish their businesses.
They brought with them not only seeds but also the thousand-year-old farming secrets of the imperial capital. In the early days, Da Lat was still a wild, desolate area, shrouded in frost and teeming with wild animals.
King Bao Dai awarded medals to 16 flower farmers from Ha Dong in Da Lat in 1945 - Archival photo.
During his lifetime, Mr. Ngo Van Ngon (Ha Dong hamlet, Lam Vien ward - Da Lat) told us, "Before the departure, people living around West Lake were worried because the government at that time was very strict in recruiting people. They had a feeling that the group would be going to a very distant and strange place, beyond the imagination of farmers who had never set foot outside their village for years."
Unlike previous recruitment drives for plantation laborers where the authorities sought out impoverished men, this time they selected only young, healthy individuals accustomed to farming. Among those 35 men, many came from humble backgrounds but enjoyed a stable livelihood by cultivating vegetables and flowers year-round to supply Hanoi .
Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Dinh of Ha Dong province went to recruit people. He summoned all the young men from the six flower villages to the village square. He examined their faces, hands, and feet. He carefully felt each pair of hands, searching for strong, calloused hands.
After selecting 35 suitable individuals, Mr. Dinh took them to visit flower and vegetable farms in Ngoc Ha flower village, which used European technology. Still not satisfied, Mr. Dinh chose the worst plot of land in Hanoi and made the selected individuals practice farming under his supervision.
And the practice only ended about a year later when Mr. Dinh witnessed the agricultural achievements of the selected farmers, which were different from the vegetable and flower gardens at that time.
The authorities hired doctors to vaccinate the selected people against plague and smallpox. Mr. Ngon recounted that in the old days, very few people were vaccinated; they were terrified of needles, and for them, getting vaccinated meant something very serious was about to happen. Before their departure, an atmosphere of anxiety permeated the flower villages where relatives were leaving.
Many flower varieties that were never before seen in Vietnam have been successfully grown in Da Lat and exported - Photo: MV
Documents at the Ha Dong Flower Village Cultural Center in Da Lat record that farmers like Mr. Ngo Van Ngon brought the first 2,000 gladiolus bulbs to Da Lat. Mr. Nguyen Van Dung - a master of hybridizing lily colors - also laid the first bricks for the establishment of Ha Dong hamlet, the oldest flower village in Da Lat, officially in 1938. From this "cradle," the flower cultivation profession gradually spread to Thai Phien, Van Thanh, and many surrounding areas.
Those who came before us didn't just "pioneer" in the sense of clearing land with hoes. They were also a generation of folk "botanists"—persistently experimenting, domesticating temperate flower varieties, and selectively choosing each crop so that beds of gladiolus, chrysanthemums, peonies, etc., would take root and become marketable products.
Da Lat, once a local agricultural supplier for the resort city, has gradually become a specialized agricultural production area with skilled workers, a long tradition, and a workforce that understands plants as well as people.
Becoming the flower hub of Southeast Asia.
To date, Lam Dong province has over 10,880 hectares of flowers, producing 4.4 billion stems annually, generating significant revenue, with many areas exceeding 3 billion VND per hectare. Hasfarm's recent acquisition of Lynch Group is a clear example of leveraging its production base in Vietnam to expand its influence in the Asia-Pacific market.
Caring for young flower seedlings in a greenhouse in Da Lat - Photo: MV
The turning point in modernization came in the 1990s, when foreign direct investment (FDI) and manufacturing technology from foreign companies arrived. Along with this influx of capital came new production standards and a new supply chain mindset, propelling Da Lat's flower-growing region to become a renowned regional supply hub.
"Foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises like Dalat Hasfarm didn't build Da Lat into a flower hub from scratch. When these businesses arrived, Da Lat already had a combination of advantages: a climate and soil conditions rare in Southeast Asia, along with a workforce with a long tradition of flower cultivation spanning generations," observed Mr. Tran Huy Duong (former Chairman of the Da Lat Flower Association).
According to the strategy developed by the Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, Da Lat is positioned to become the leading fresh flower production center in Southeast Asia by 2030. Lam Dong is currently addressing the crucial factor: seedlings. Instead of relying on imported varieties, Lam Dong plans to produce 200 million seedlings annually using tissue culture technology (in-vitro) by 2030. Currently, the Lam Dong Provincial Department of Agriculture and Environment is supporting farmers in importing copyrighted flower varieties to ensure fair business practices and compliance with international standards.
Furthermore, Lam Dong province is promoting the construction of a modern flower trading center and an international standard auction floor system right at the foot of Prenn Pass. This will help to increase price transparency, bringing Da Lat flowers directly from farms to supermarket shelves in Australia, Japan, and Europe, minimizing intermediaries. The location of the auction center in the core production area (Da Lat and surrounding areas) also helps flowers get from the farm to the market as quickly as possible.
The world's largest flower company has a presence in Da Lat.
Upon announcing the completion of the acquisition of Lynch Group, Dalat Hasfarm stated: With this merger, Dalat Hasfarm will become a leading company in Asia and one of the largest fresh flower companies in the world, operating in Vietnam, China, and Indonesia, while expanding its access to major markets such as China, Japan, and Australia.
Dalat Hasfarm is supporting Lynch in strengthening its production, distribution, and logistics in China by leveraging economies of scale in production costs. The collaborative plan also aims to stabilize the situation for employees, customers, and suppliers, and ensure a consistent supply of goods for Australian retailers.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoa-da-lat-tu-35-luu-dan-ha-thanh-den-vua-hoa-chau-a-20260219102222009.htm
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