The village of yellow apricot blossoms named Binh Loi (in Binh Chanh District of Ho Chi Minh City) in the last few weeks has been more bustling with shoppers and transporters. According to Hai Dung, a farmer in this village, thanks to suitable weather conditions, ornamental trees in the village are developing well, which means a profitable season for villagers.
While choosing 100 trees for shipping to Phan Thiet City in Binh Thuan Province, Nguyen Minh Tai happily shared that harsh weather conditions in Binh Dinh Province have destroyed yellow apricot blossoms grown there, so he visited Binh Loi Village in hope of finding better ornamental trees. Comparing between the trees of two locations, he stated that yellow apricot blossoms in Binh Dinh Province take 8 years to mature, while those in Binh Loi Village need only 5 years, along with cheaper shipping cost. This makes him continue to buy trees from the latter location in the future.
Thanks to being grown from the ground, yellow apricot trees in Binh Loi Village are stronger, becoming the favorite of merchants from the central to the south regions, even from Cambodia.
Sharing the similar happiness, many yellow apricot farms in Thu Duc District and District 12 of HCMC are the favorable choice of merchants all over the nation.
Other famous ornamental tree streets in HCMC like Thanh Thai Street (in District 10), Pham Van Dong Street (Go Vap District), Hoang Van Thu Park, 23-9 (September 23) Park, and Go Vap Park are now welcoming a large number of shoppers. It is not hard to witness trucks after trucks from the Mekong Delta unloading flower pots ready for sale.
Thanks to having a wide pavement, several streets such as Ly Thuong Kiet, Tran Nao, Vanh Dai Trong are used for organizing temporary flower markets.
As usual, the Floating Flower Market in Binh Dong Wharf are buzzing with boats of flowers and buyers.
Compared to the previous years, the variety of ornamental flowers is still the same, yet the quantity is lower. As said by Le Van Hung, an assistant of a flower shop located on Thanh Thai Street, the price of ornamental flowers this year increases by 20 percent to 30 percent. As a result, many visitors are waiting until December 28 of the Lunar Year to come back for purchasing.
It seems that Phalaenopsis orchids do not experience a similar price rise to other flowers since they are imported from Taiwan. The normal cost of a stem is around VND200,000 - 500,000 (approx. US$8.6 – 21.9). A pot of 10 to 15 stems arranged in the shape of a ship or a leaf costs VND5 – 10 million ($216 – 432).
One experienced flower seller on Pham Van Dong Street revealed that the week from December 20 – 28 of the Lunar Year is the best selling time of orchids and yellow apricot blossom bonsai.
The ornamental flower market this year is more diverse as many buyers prefer wild orchids like Dendrobium Anosmum, Dendrobium Nestor, Dendrobium Aphyllum, Dendrobium Sulcatum. Others choose ornamental flowers originated in the North of Vietnam such as rhododendrons, camellia amplexicaulis, camellia japonica.
Notably, the pomelo from Dien Village in Hanoi is quite popular in the south at present, with the price of VND50 million - 80 million ($2,160 - 3,453) per pot.
In the Mekong Delta, special-shaped fruits are relatively hot this year. According to Chairman of the Special-shaped Fruit Club Vo Trung Thanh, farmers in this region have harvested and sold more than 3,000 pomelo embossed with the motto ‘Tai – Loc’ (Wealth-Prosperity), at the price of VND600,000 – 2 million ($26 – 86.3) per pair.
Mr. Vo Trung Thanh is the first in the Mekong Delta to invent the method of embossing pomelo skin with a motto. Many farmers follow his footstep to answer the market’s high demands on Tet holiday.
