The flower capital of the West does not dare to grow... Tet flowers

With only about two months left until the Lunar New Year of the Dragon 2024, many flower gardens in Dong Thap ... remain quite gloomy, unlike in previous years.

Last year, Ms. Le Thi Thuy (57 years old, residing in Sa Dec district) planted more than 20,000 pots of Tet flowers, but this year she only planted 10,000 pots.

"I've been making Tet flowers for over a decade, but the atmosphere has never been as gloomy as this year. Initially, I planned not to make Tet flowers this year, but there's only one season each year, so I have no choice but to try," Mrs. Thuy explained.

According to Ms. Thuy, even though she had to cut the number of flower pots by 50%, production costs such as fertilizer, pesticides, and seeds for this year's flower crop still increased by 5% compared to last year. Due to the smaller quantity, she will focus on investing in the quality of the flowers to increase sales potential.

People are starting to separate chrysanthemums into smaller pots in preparation for the Tet market (Photo: Bao Tran).

Mr. Tran Van Phuoc (also residing in Sa Dec City) said that this year his family planted about 5,000 pots of flowers. Mr. Phuoc predicted that although the weather was favorable this year, due to the economic impact and people changing their shopping habits to be more frugal, the demand for goods, including Tet flowers, may decrease.

"Every year, farmers proactively adjust the quantity of flowers according to market demand. Usually, wholesale customers only place orders around the 15th of the 12th lunar month, at which point they know if the flowers are in high demand," Mr. Phuoc shared.

According to many farmers, growing flowers for Tet is quite hard work and requires a lot of effort because everything has to be done on time (Photo: Bao Tran).

According to many farmers in the Mekong Delta, some households have switched to growing high-quality, long-term flowers and ornamental foliage plants that can be sold year-round to avoid dependence on the Tet flower market.

This year, the main flower varieties chosen by farmers in the Mekong Delta for Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) are chrysanthemums, daisies, marigolds, roses, periwinkle, cockscomb, petunias, carnations, and lucky bamboo, etc.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc, Head of the Economic Department of Sa Dec City, the area dedicated to ornamental plants in the city currently stands at 950 hectares, with over 2,500 households involved in cultivation. They trade in more than 2,000 different types of ornamental plants.

Locals grow and care for chrysanthemums to sell on a daily basis to generate extra income before Tet (Photo: Bao Tran).

The 2024 Tet flower season is divided into three main groups: ornamental plants for landscaping and interior decoration (accounting for 65%); antique bonsai (accounting for 15%); and various types of flowers (accounting for approximately 20%). The total area of ​​ornamental plants for Tet is expected to be around 100 hectares.

Unlike previous years, Sa Dec City is hosting the Flower Festival for the first time this year. It is expected to be the largest Tet flower festival in the Mekong Delta and will boost the attractiveness of the Tet flower market in the region.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/thu-phu-hoa-mien-tay-khong-dam-trong-hoa-tet-20231205232346292.htm