Flowers are flowing en masse into HCM City for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, or Tet, with prices 10-30 percent higher than last Tet due to unfavourable weather.
Venues along Pham Van Dong Street in Thu Duc District and Bac Hai, Thanh Thai and Ly Thuong Kiet streets in District 10 are awash with flowers and bonsai trees. Consumers prefer flowers and trees that can stay fresh for a long time such as apricot blossom, peach blossom, laurel and orchids.
Nguyen Van Tam, the owner of a shop on Thanh Thai Street trading in chrysanthemum from Cai Mon District in Tien Giang Province, said chrysanthemum blooms early, so the volume of chrysanthemum for Tet decreases. Chrysanthemum prices increase by 20-30 percent over last Tet to VND120,000-230,000 a pot depending on the quality of flowers.
The number of chrysanthemum pots decreases to 1,000 from 1,700 pots last Tet. Some 200 additional pots are transported from Cai Mon to HCM City every two or three days, he said.
Tran Thi Hieu, a vendor of Ben Tre apricot blossom on Bac Hai Street, said apricot blossom prices grow 20 percent to at least VND1 million a tree. She has to pay VND10 million rent for a place to sell apricot blossom from February 7 to 15.
However, some apricot blossom farm owners and traders in Thu Duc District said flower prices are the same as last Tet. Apricot blossom bonsai pots cost VND0.8-1 million each while rents of apricot blossom pots will be 30-40 percent of the prices of such apricot blossom pots.
The flower market for the upcoming Tet also sees some new flowers such as dried rhododendron and thick-petal persian buttercup that sell for VND140,000 a bunch of 40 branches and VND150,000-200,000 a pot respectively.
HCM City will organise the annual Spring Flower Festival on Nguyen Hue Boulevard and a Tet flower market in the Ban Nguyet Lake from February 8 to 12, a spring flower festival at Tao Dan Park from February 10 to 21 and Tet flower markets at pavements, schools and cultural houses. In addition, 130 Tet flower fairs will be launched at the parks of September 23, Gia Dinh and Le Van Tam, and Binh Dien wholesale market.
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/58445/Tet-flower-prices-picking-up.html
Category: Finance
