Tet flower growers in Hue anxious about the output market
Farmers run into difficulty
The sharp decrease in this year's Lunar New Year flower - growing area in Phu Mau (Hue City) on account of unfavorable weather in the early crop together with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic also poses difficulties for flower farmers.
Phu Mau is a famous flower-growing area, one of the largest flower producers for the Tet flower market in Hue. On the last days of the year, the farmers here hurry to go to the field to look after and prepare flower crop for the Lunar New Year, mainly chrysanthemums of all kinds.
Mr. Le Ngoc Chat (Thanh Vinh Hamlet, Phu Mau Commune) said that this year, the family's flower-growing area mainly with ruby daisies (multi-colored daisies) sown for nearly one and a half months has decreased. Flower care at this stage is primarily to put sticks for support and replant the damaged plants.
The prolonged cold weather in the early crop affects the growth of the plants. This year, under the impact of the pandemic, the growers who also encounter difficulty do not "take risks" to increase the area because there is no labor and fear that the output market will be “narrowed”.
According to Phu Mau flower-growing farmers, the ruby chrysanthemum strain from Da Lat costs about 500 dong/root. Usually 15 - 17 thousand roots are planted on a sào (497m2). However, this year, owing to the anxiety over the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor force (lack of people to take care of plants) as well as the difficult output market, the farmers plant only 10 - 11 thousand roots/ sào.
“Currently, the damaged or newly grown plants will certainly not be in time for the Tet crop, so farmers focus only on taking care of the remaining flower beds. From now until the end of the year, if the weather is favorable and the market is not affected, after deducting costs, flower growers hope to earn several tens of millions of dong per sào, "said Mr. Chat.
According to the Provincial Sub-department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, in 2021, the flower-growing area in the province is about 61 ha. Potted flowers in particular are about 119,400 pots (Phong Dien, 500 pots; Quang Dien, 1,600 pots; Huong Thuy, 48,000 pots; Phu Vang, 10,000 pots; Hue City, 50,000 pots; A Luoi 8,300 pots...).
For many years now, the winter crop production, Tet flowers included, has been recognized as a big crop, increasing the economic value per area unit and generating more jobs for farmers. With the advancements in plant strains, a number of new flower strains have been put into production in conformity with the requirements of winter crop production as well as the Tet market.
Many solutions
Mr. Le Van Anh, Provincial Sub-department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, said that for the annual Tet flower crop, the unit recommends that the localities need to comply with the technical solutions in order to grow flowers with high yield, keep pace with the sale time during the Tet. Simultaneously, it supports and connects to seek a stable consumption market for farmers.
Further, the management agency applies information technology to building a model of digital transformation and digital economy in order to put winter vegetables and flowers on the e-marketplace, which contributes to the product value increase.
Afraid to import new flower strains
According to the survey by the Provincial Sub-department of Cultivation and Plant Protection, aside from the flower strains grown in Hue such as chrysanthemums, orchids, yellow apricot flowers, and bonsai of all kinds... currently, many big flower shop owners expect to import all kinds of lilies, tulips, orchids, kumquats, etc for sale from the southern provinces and cities such as Da Lat, Phu Yen, and Binh Dinh.
However, many garden owners and people worry that the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic will affect the production and consumption of flower products during the Lunar New Year, so they remain hesitant to import goods.
Story and photo: Ha Nguyen