At noon on 13/1, Ms. Duong Thi Truc Xuyen, 42 years old, stood distraught beside her 1,000 m2 chrysanthemum garden with over 2,500 pots in An Hoa hamlet, Cho Lach commune. While nearly half a month remained until the selling period, the entire garden had already burst into vibrant yellow bloom.

"Last year, at this time, traders had already placed deposits at 170,000 VND per pair. After deducting costs, my family earned a profit of about 100 million VND," Ms. Xuyen said.

Ms. Duong Thi Truc Xuyen next to her fully bloomed chrysanthemum garden. Photo: Hoang Nam

This year, due to the unusually early blooming, traders are hesitant to purchase. To date, she has only sold about 500 pots at 140,000 VND per pair, which is 30,000 VND lower than in previous years. The remaining stock still has no buyers.

Not far away, the chrysanthemum garden of Ms. Truong Thi Lac, 54 years old, with over 3,000 pots, faced a similar situation. The garden owner stated that this year the flowers developed well, with large, uniform, and beautiful blooms. Familiar traders from the central region had previously placed deposits to buy the entire garden at 170,000 VND per pair. However, as many flowers in the garden bloomed early, four days ago they only purchased 600 pots.

Thousands of chrysanthemum pots blooming early in Cho Lach commune are causing losses for farmers. Photo: Hoang Nam

According to her, fertilizer and material costs have increased this year. The total investment for the flower season was about 100 million VND, plus 20 million VND for land rental, but so far, she has only recouped over 40 million VND. Unable to sell the flowers, she has been harvesting cucumbers intercropped in the garden in recent days to cover living expenses.

"My husband and I plan to take the remaining flowers to the market to sell at a low retail price, hoping to recoup some capital," Ms. Lac shared.

In An Huy hamlet, Cho Lach commune, Mr. Thai Cong Hiep, 49 years old, also finalized the sale of over 3,000 chrysanthemum pots to traders at 120,000 VND per pair.

"Before that, they placed a deposit for 170,000 VND. Due to the early blooming, each pair lost 50,000 VND, not to mention the labor for care. This season, my family is losing nearly 100 million VND," Mr. Hiep said.

Cho Lach flower village produces about 10-12 million Tet flower products. Photo: Hoang Nam

According to farmers, chrysanthemums are a long-day flower, taking about six months from planting to harvest. This year, prolonged unseasonal rain caused many flower gardens to bloom early, forcing drastic price reductions. Some households with a high percentage of early blooms are offering them for only 100,000 VND per pair but still struggle to find buyers, having to display flowers by the roadside for retail.

Cho Lach flower village (formerly Ben Tre province), along with Sa Dec (Dong Thap), are the two largest flower and ornamental plant growing regions in the Mekong Delta.

According to the Vinh Long Department of Agriculture and Environment, this year's Tet flower season in the locality has about 10-12 million flower and ornamental plant products, mainly concentrated in Cho Lach, Hung Khanh Trung, and Vinh Thanh communes.

Mr. Tran Huu Nghi, Vice Chairman of Cho Lach Commune People's Committee, stated that the locality has over 3 million flower and ornamental plant products serving the Lunar New Year of Binh Ngo, primarily chrysanthemums, Dutch chrysanthemums, and yellow apricot blossoms. Currently, about 50% of the products have been ordered by traders, with prices ranging from 150,000 to 200,000 VND per pair.

"Due to unseasonal rain, about 30% of the chrysanthemum area bloomed early," Mr. Nghi said, adding that the provincial agriculture sector is guiding residents on spraying and technical treatment to limit damage.

Hoang Nam