Mr. Mai Thai Cong, owner of a mai garden in Binh Dinh, said he brought 100 mai trees to Dak Lak to sell. He chose the 100 most beautiful trees from 1,200 trees in the garden.
According to Mr. Cong, this year the weather is very cold, so the apricot trees rarely have buds and flowers. Many bonsai trees are very beautiful but have no buds.
To transport 100 apricot trees, Mr. Cong spent 15 million VND (including car rental, transportation and accommodation). In addition, he had to pay 3 million VND for renting the space from January 22 until now.
However, purchasing power was very slow, Mr. Cong only sold 20 trees. With only 2 days left until Tet, Mr. Cong had to return the premises and return to his hometown.
“To have a mai tree, the gardener must take care of it for at least 3 years. The harsh weather makes it difficult to take care of the mai tree to bloom in time for Tet,” Mr. Cong added.
Also bringing 100 apricot trees from Binh Dinh to Dak Lak to sell, Mr. Le Van Khoa shared that purchasing power has never been as gloomy as this year. There are only 2 days left until Tet but he has only sold 8 trees. Meanwhile, the price of apricot trees this year has cooled down compared to previous years.
According to Mr. Khoa, due to unfavorable weather, apricot trees rarely have buds. Many beautiful bonsai trees have no buds. Therefore, the price of apricot trees has decreased, ranging from 1-1.3 million VND/tree.
"Every year, gardeners only look forward to Tet, and with the current situation, Tet is lost. If I can't sell anything, I'll hire a car to take them back to my hometown on the 29th. Either way, I'll lose money," Khoa shared.
Mr. Luu Tan Van - Chief of Office of Dak Lak Provincial Ornamental Plants Association shared that this year the cold weather lasted for a long time so the apricot blossoms did not bloom in time for Tet. The number of apricot trees brought to Tet flower markets was small but consumption was also very slow.
