It takes a lot of effort and time for peach blossom traders to transport their harvest to the south and this year they have had to deal with a failed harvest.
Peach blossoms are already in full bloom although Tet hasn’t yet arrived.
Full bloom isn't pretty for growers
With Tet approaching, many kinds of trees from all over the country are brought to Ho Chi Minh City. Peach blossoms from the north are among them. This is a big deal for traders at the end of the year but due to the weather, they are worried about big losses.
Pham Tien Lai, living in Gia Lam, Hanoi, brought 200 Nhat Tan blossom trees to Ho Chi Minh City 5 days ago and is very anxious as his blossoms start blooming one by one. He had to hire a kiosk at VND1.5 million ($81). Some people have inquired about price but virtually nobody has bothered to buy.
It’s very sad for traders to see blossoms falling onto the ground. There are very few buds left. If the weather remains hot like this, all of the buds will be in bloom very soon and eventually there will be no flowers or buds on the trees.
Saddened by the blossoms
Lai was offering his peach blossoms from VND500,000 ($27) per unit to VND1.8 million ($97). He has been forced to reduce his prices by 30 percent but is still having trouble finding buyers.
“I spent over VND100 million ($5,405) on the deal but I have gotten very little return from it. When I first arrived, the blossoms were very beautiful, but now most of them are in full bloom due to the hot weather. During transportation, many of them also rotten,” continued Lai, “I will have a big loss. The remaining buds will bloom very soon.”
Nguyen Van Huu from Hai Duong is also in the same boat with Lai, “This year transportation prices are higher so we have to increase the selling price. Blossoms are blooming but I hope that many more people will come to buy in the next few days.”
Huu sold only 10 blossom trees in 4 days
One couple passed by and asked Huu for the price of a tree. He offered to sell for VND500,000 ($27) but they didn’t want to buy because they were afraid that all buds will be in bloom very soon.
“I bought it at about VND300,000 ($16) excluding transportation fees. I won't make any profit if I sell at cheaper price but at higher price customers don’t want to buy,” said Huu. “Last year I could earn a little but this year I will definitely suffer losses.”
