According to the reporter's records at noon on January 28 (ie the 29th day of Tet), traders selling Tet flowers, cakes, jams... on some central streets of Can Tho City such as Hai Ba Trung, Nguyen An Ninh, Chau Van Liem... have cleaned up their stalls and returned the premises in time for people to celebrate Tet.
According to the assessment of small traders, this year's business situation is neither profitable nor unprofitable. In particular, people's purchasing power is concentrated during the Tet holidays.
Selling Tet flowers on Hoang Van Thu Street, Ms. Tran Thi Kim Nga (Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City) shared: “Purchasing power did not increase suddenly but was scattered during the Tet holidays. Due to the affordable prices and beautiful flowers this year, people supported them, with only a few pairs left. However, the profit from selling flowers must be offset by costs such as stall rental, transportation, and caretaker labor…”
Summing up this year's Tet business season, Ms. Trang - selling cakes and jams on Nguyen An Ninh Street (Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City) - assessed that the business situation was only at a relative level. The capital invested was basically recovered but the profit was insignificant.
“During the Tet holidays, my candy stall only had customers coming to shop. In addition to the difficult economy and people being cautious about spending, we also had to compete with the online market. Luckily, in the last few days, I reduced the price of my products, so people supported me a lot. The business was not too bad, but the Tet holiday was not big,” Trang confided.
Business has not been as expected, but Mr. Nguyen Van Truyen (Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City) can feel relieved to return the premises and go home for Tet. According to Mr. Truyen, this year's Tet bougainvillea is beautiful but not priced well. People tend to buy small, compact bonsai pots that do not take up much space and are affordable.
“Small pots priced from 200,000 - 300,000 VND attract a lot of attention. Every day, people come to support, but overall, the consumption is only at an average level. At this point, I don't expect anything anymore. The remaining bougainvillea flowers are transported home to be cared for and sold again during the next Tet season. Next year, I will prepare more small, compact models to supply, hoping that business will be better," Mr. Truyen confided.
