Busy harvesting flowers from 5 am
These days, in Thuong Cat ward (Hanoi), lilies are entering the harvest season. From 5 am, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dinh - a flower grower in the locality - has been busy cutting flowers to catch the early delivery.
According to Ms. Dinh, in the peak season, farmers almost have no time to rest. They have to stay up all night to look after flowers, while diligently working in the fields from early morning to noon to promptly harvest and deliver to traders, ensuring that flowers maintain the best quality when they reach customers.
My family grows lilies, starting harvesting from January 20th to now. These flowers only have one season each year and each season lasts only about 1 month," Ms. Dinh said.
Mr. Nguyen Van Tung - a flower grower in Thuong Cat ward said that this year, his 8 sao of lilies achieved good yields, with an average of 3-4 flowers per branch, and many branches reaching 5-6 flowers. However, to achieve this result, farmers have to meticulously cultivate and care for for 7 months.
Lilies have a long growing cycle from July of the lunar calendar to about February of the lunar calendar of the following year before being cut for sale. Unlike gardens that process and store in cold storage to allow flowers to bloom early, my family chooses to let flowers develop completely naturally. Vietnamese lilies when blooming will be whiter than Chinese lilies," Mr. Tung shared.
According to PV's records, in the harvest season, every early morning after cutting flowers, people bring them ashore and traders come to buy them right from the field.
Currently, the selling price to traders right in the garden is fluctuating around 2,000 VND/double flower and 3,000 VND/single flower. Farmers share that this price is at a stable level, not increasing compared to previous years.
Although retail prices outside the market may be higher, many farmers still choose to sell wholesale right in the field to save transportation and time.
Weather risks and input cost pressure
According to Mr. Tung, lilies need meticulous care: "We do not use many chemicals, mainly spray alum to prevent frost, helping the leaves not to spoil.
According to Ms. Dinh, growing lilies is not too difficult, but the biggest pressure of this profession is facing erratic weather conditions.
The hailstorm at the end of March just passed caused many flower gardens to be bruised and dark, and had to be pruned a lot. Some houses suffered heavy damage and had to cut off the tops. Besides, the damage of leaves due to dew also gives farmers a headache. Although they have actively sprayed alum to prevent dew, the rate of damage is still not small," Ms. Dinh recounted.
In addition to weather issues, high input production costs also affect the profits of flower growers.
Ms. Dinh analyzed that in the first year of planting, the cost of seed bulbs is about 70,000 VND/kg, and the profit earned is only enough to cover the seed money. In the second year, people have surplus thanks to seed bulbs available from the previous crop. However, seed bulbs will degenerate after a few years, forcing people to replace them completely. What is worrying is that the price of seed bulbs is trending upwards.
If a few years ago the price of seed bulbs was only about 70,000 VND/kg, this year it has jumped to 105,000 - 110,000 VND/kg, pushing the burden of costs on the shoulders of flower growers," Ms. Dinh shared.
