An Nhon, the capital of apricot blossom production, anticipates a successful Tet market.

An Nhon Dong and An Nhon Bac wards (Gia Lai province) are considered the capital of apricot blossom cultivation in Central Vietnam, supplying tens of thousands of trees to the Lunar New Year market each year. These days, gardeners here are focusing on caring for the trees to ensure they bloom at the right time, serving the needs of people nationwide during the Tet holiday.

The apricot blossom grower strips the leaves from the apricot blossom tree.

Mr. Ngo Hang Duy's apricot blossom garden in An Nhon Dong ward has about 3,500 apricot blossom trees aged 3-10 years, mainly dragon apricot blossoms, grafted apricot blossoms, and bonsai apricot blossoms. At this time, not only does he have to hire extra workers to strip the leaves in time for the season, but he also has to actively apply special care methods to ensure the apricot blossoms bloom in time for Tet.

Mr. Duy said that this year's unfavorable weather, with storms and heavy rain, caused significant damage to apricot blossom growers here. His garden also suffered a lot of damage, especially to the larger trees with damaged buds and broken pots, but compared to other gardens, his suffered the least damage. Immediately after the water receded, his family hired extra laborers to repot the trees, prune damaged branches, and care for the roots. Thanks to timely care, the apricot blossom trees have revived, although they are not as beautiful as in previous years.

"Prices this year may increase by 20-30% compared to previous years. Last year, it was around 500,000 VND per tree, but this year it has risen to 550,000-600,000 VND per tree. The reason is that many apricot blossom trees were damaged by storms and floods, and the short time for care meant they didn't recover in time to be brought to market," Duy added.

People strip the leaves from the apricot blossom trees.

In An Nhon Bac Ward, it's easy to spot people busy in the fields with the tasks of caring for and pruning apricot blossom trees. This is a crucial step that determines the flowering time and the value of the apricot blossom tree during Tet (Lunar New Year).

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Hien, from Trung Ly residential area, An Nhon Bac commune, said that this year's apricot blossoms were severely affected by storms and floods, and it seemed impossible to save them, but now seeing the buds blooming evenly makes her very happy. For the past few days, the whole family has had to go to the fields to quickly strip the leaves so that the apricot blossoms will bloom in time for Tet. Any trees that don't meet quality standards are put aside to be sold next year, while those that do are repotted and given special care.

Gardeners are tending to their apricot blossom trees for the Lunar New Year.

Not far away, Mr. Ngo Minh Tri was also busy taking care of nearly 2000 apricot blossom trees of all sizes in his garden. He said that after the flood, caring for apricot blossom trees required more effort, but thanks to favorable weather, the trees recovered quite well.

“During this period, gardeners here are rearranging their apricot blossom trees, selecting those of good quality to bring to market. Currently, some farmers have moved their apricot blossom trees to centralized markets in the planned area to sell to wholesale traders. However, at this time, not many traders have come to place orders because this year's apricot blossom trees have been heavily affected by storms and floods. In previous years, many traders would have come to place deposits by now, but this year they have only come to look and haven't decided whether to buy or not,” Mr. Tri added.

Caring for apricot blossom trees to supply the Tet market.

An Nhon Bac Ward in Gia Lai Province was formed by merging wards and communes of the former An Nhon town in Binh Dinh Province, now part of Gia Lai Province. It is considered a large and famous apricot blossom growing area in the Central region, with over 450 households and an area of ​​over 145 hectares, generating over 100 billion VND in revenue annually. Mr. Dinh Thanh Trinh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Nhon Bac Ward, stated that last year's natural disasters damaged approximately 120,000 apricot blossom trees, with estimated losses exceeding 80 billion VND. In response, the local government has implemented various measures to support residents in restoring production.

“To facilitate the production and sale of apricot blossom trees for the people during Tet, the local authorities have implemented many policies, including tax exemptions and reductions for parking fees, facilitating traffic flow from the North and South to buy apricot blossom trees, and making it convenient for customers to buy apricot blossom trees from the ward. At the same time, there are preferential policies advised to higher authorities and banks to freeze debts or provide low-interest loans to help people have the funds to resume production,” Mr. Trinh added.

An Nhon Bac ward currently has over 450 households growing apricot blossoms, covering an area of ​​over 145 hectares.

After a year of significant damage from storms and floods, apricot blossom growers in An Nhon Bac and An Nhon Dong wards are devoting all their efforts to caring for their trees, while also hoping for a thriving Tet market and stable purchasing power to compensate for losses caused by floods and rising input costs.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/thu-phu-mai-an-nhon-ky-vong-thi-truong-tet-20260114173936522.htm