Early raspberry chrysanthemums in Sa Dec flower village are in high demand.

Sa Dec flower village, Sa Dec city, Dong Thap province is bustling with Tet flower season, when tourists from Ho Chi Minh City and many neighboring provinces come to the garden to visit and buy flowers.

Mr. Tran Van Tha's (right) chrysanthemum garden is expected to bloom right at the peak of the Tet season - Photo: DANG TUYET

Some gardeners’ early blooming chrysanthemums have been bought up by traders. Flower packing points are busy packing the flowers and loading them onto trucks for transport.

Ms. Tran Ngoc Hoa, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, said that every year her family takes advantage of the time before Tet to go to Sa Dec flower village to visit and buy Tet flowers.

“In Sa Dec there are many beautiful and cheap flowers, I have more choices, the family car can carry 7-10 baskets of flowers at a time.

So sometimes I come back to the flower village to buy flowers two or three times during Tet, each time has its own beauty. The road is very convenient now, there is a connecting highway so driving from Ho Chi Minh City to Sa Dec is only about three hours," said Ms. Hoa.

Mr. Le Duy Minh (Tan Khanh Dong commune, Sa Dec city), who has more than 1,000 crystal chrysanthemum baskets, said that the recent weather has been very favorable so the flowers have been producing seeds well, with a rate of 90%.

“For crystal chrysanthemums, traders have not visited many places yet. Medium-sized baskets cost 300,000 VND/pot, and smaller baskets cost 80,000 VND/pot. Hopefully, people will go to the market a lot so that the flowers will sell well, and flower growers will have the motivation to invest for next year,” said Mr. Minh.

Mr. Tran Van Tha (Tan Khanh Dong commune) said that due to the influence of early season rain, some pots of yellow raspberries bloomed late.

“My raspberries are expected to bloom right around the Lunar New Year, around the 22nd or 25th, so those who buy early won’t see the color yet. But this year, those who grow traditional yellow raspberries can “win big” because of the high demand,” Mr. Tha said.

According to Mr. Vo Minh Thong – Deputy Head of the Economic Department of Sa Dec City, Sa Dec flowers have been exported to the Central provinces and Hanoi, while the Western provinces are about 3-4 days later. Tet flowers are supplied early to places providing decoration services and making spring flower streets.

“More than 80% of the flower output has been ordered by traders and deposited with gardeners. In particular, the early raspberry chrysanthemum has been ordered nearly 100%, but we have to wait until the last minute to know whether the consumption is over or not, waiting for statistics from the communes,” said Mr. Thong.

Bustling year-end picking of bamboo shoots

This season, along Highway 14 through the northern part of Kon Tum province, it is easy to see people drying bamboo shoots on the side of the road - Photo: TAN LUC

In the last days of the year, along National Highway 14 through the northern districts of Kon Tum province such as Ngoc Hoi, Dak To, Dak Glei... it is not difficult to see the scene of local people drying bamboo shoots in large patches along the roadside.

Although it is a part-time job, hardworking bamboo pickers who are good at wading through the forest can earn 300,000 - 400,000 VND per day.

That is a not small income compared to the average labor in the locality. Mr. A Phan, residing in Dak Tung, Dak Glei, said that on days when there are many bamboo shoots, he and his wife can pick 50-70kg of fresh bamboo shoots to sell to middlemen, earning up to 600,000-700,000 VND.

The bamboo season lasts about a month before Tet. Income from picking bamboo helps his family and people in the commune have money to shop for Tet and take care of their children's education.

According to Mr. A Phan, the bamboo plant usually grows in streams or low-lying areas where the soil is wet and difficult to access. Without experience, health and knowledge of the area, it is difficult to harvest a lot of bamboo.

The fresh bamboo baskets brought back are weighed and sent to the wholesaler at a price of about 5,000 VND/kg. The wholesalers collect them, dry them, pack them in large bundles, and then send them to broom-making villages in Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces to produce finished brooms for sale to consumers.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cuc-mam-xoi-som-o-lang-hoa-sa-dec-hut-hang-20250115073812082.htm