With just a week to the new lunar year, sales at Tet flower markets across Ho Chi Minh City remain sluggish, with vendors expressing concerns over overstocked items and poor sales.

Pham Phu Quy, a vendor who specializes in purchasing flowers from Da Lat for selling in 23/9 Park in Ho Chi Minh City, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that he typically imports about 2,000 orchids per year for Tet. This year, however, he only imported 900.

In another corner of the park, Trong Trinh, a resident of northern Thai Binh Province, said that the volume of peach blossoms available for sale this year has decreased significantly due to the impact of typhoon Yagi, which hit northern Vietnam in September last year, and unfavorable weather conditions in the north. 

“The volume of available peach blossoms has fallen 30-40 percent, resulting in price increases of 10-15 percent,” Trinh said.

At Ho Thi Ky Flower Market in District 10, the atmosphere is also much quieter than it was in previous years. 

Tuyet Mai, a vendor at the market, lamented that current sales are only about 70 percent of what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, another vendor, expressed disappointment, saying that in the past, she could sell dozens of flower bouquets each day, but now she is lucky if she can vend just one.

“We are barely surviving on profits from previous years,” Loan said.

Having sold flowers at Ho Thi Ky Flower Market for over 30 years, Dieu Hoa Bich Phuong could not hide her feelings about the current slump.

In previous years, the flower market was bustling from morning to night, but this year, buyers are scarce, Phuong said.

Pham Hoang Thai Duong, CEO of the Hoa Yeu Thuong flower chain, forecast that the Tet flower market this year would be bleak, with sales expected to be half of what they were last year.

He advised florists and vendors to offer flexible pricing to avoid holding inventory for too long.

Vendors pinned high hopes on a better situation after the 25th day of the 12th lunar month, or Friday, when people start their Tet holiday and receive their Tet bonuses.

Facing difficulties in selling flowers at her bricks-and-mortar shop at Ho Thi Ky Market, Huynh Nhu Ngoc, the owner of Ngoc Nhien flower shop, said she had launched several promotional programs and support policies to attract online orders. 

These programs include free delivery services for large orders, a one-for-one exchange policy if flowers are damaged during delivery, and detailed instructions on how to care for flowers.

These policies have helped increase the number of online orders by about 30 percent.

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