‘Ten years of selling flowers for Tet, there has never been a year as empty as this year’

On the afternoon of December 29, many small flower traders in Ho Chi Minh City are still waiting for customers because of the lack of money. Some people said that there has never been a Tet flower market as gloomy as this year.

On the afternoon of January 20 (December 29), only a few customers came to buy flowers at September 23 Park (District 1), one of the largest Tet flower markets in Ho Chi Minh City. The flower market has almost only small traders walking and waiting for customers.

Around 15:00, the whole flower market was still dull, many small traders took advantage of a nap. Shoppers struggled in the hot weather to hope for someone to buy flowers in the last days of the old year.

Ms. Ngoc Bich (living in District 6), a small merchant, looked at the deserted scene at the flower market on the afternoon of the 29th of Tet. “Every year on the 29th of Tet, we sell most of it, but this year it is still intact. The price of a large pot of chrysanthemums every year sells for 800,000 dong, this year sold 500,000 dong and no one bought it,” Ms. Bich said.

This year, small flower traders display a lot of peach blossoms that have been moved from the North to serve the needs of Tet. Peach varieties are diverse in style, size and price, however, Nhat Tan peaches still share the same fate with other flowers when the residue is still quite large.

Flowers here are sold quite a variety of species, most are apricots, bougainvillea, marigolds, chicken colors, cotton pages, kumquats…

Ms. Phuong, a small flower seller at the park on September 23, said that this year, the cost to care for and transport flowers from the West is very high, but so far, the flowers have only been sold very little. “Tomorrow morning, I have to pay the ground, if I can’t sell all the flowers, I have to give up, but I don’t know what to do. Ten years of selling Tet flowers, there has never been a year as empty as this year”, Ms. Phuong said.

Many small traders also shared that the Tet flower market has never been as dull as this year. The market for ornamental plants and flowers for Tet is still waiting for customers. There is only one day left until the Lunar New Year of the Rabbit, many small traders have lowered the selling price in the hope of saving capital.

Small businesses at the park on September 23 started to display flowers from December 20 and have to rent space for several million dong to be sold until noon on December 30.

Not only the large flower markets, the flower display points on the sidewalks of some streets are also in a sluggish state. This year’s flowers are shared by many small traders as being lush and blooming at the right time of Tet.

At a flower shop on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh street (Binh Thanh district), small traders walk around, watering flowers to wait for customers. “Occasionally, there are customers, but many people say it’s close to Tet and try to bargain for a very low price,” said this small trader.

The flower pots sold on the sidewalks of a few streets in the center of Ho Chi Minh City were also empty on the afternoon of December 29.