HANOI – Tet holiday is coming nearer but orchid vendors on the main streets of Hanoi have reported slack trading due to poor demand which has failed to keep prices of orchids stable.
Director Bui Thi Huong Bich of Bac Viet Flowers Joint Stock Company said the firm this year was supplying some 100,000 orchid branches for the market, a rise of 10% versus last year.
Despite the good harvest, rising input costs including labor, power, water and fertilizer have led the company to push up selling prices by 15-20% over last Tet. In particular, butterfly orchids sell for VND300,000-350,000 a branch, and earth orchids for VND500,000-600,000 a branch.
With seven years’ experience in orchid farming, Bich ascribed the economic woes to the declining demand for orchids, a luxury item for many. “Our company mostly sells to regular customers and connoisseurs while we have few new customers,” she said.
Furthermore, according to many orchid shop owners, there is a change in consumption trend this year, with each customer spending VND5-7 million on orchids as presents, instead of above VND10 million on large flower pots as seen in previous years.
Nguyen Van Thuy, manager of Flora Vietnam orchid shop on Hoang Quoc Viet Street, said the production cost of a VND15-million orchid pot was as much as VND13 million, excluding land rent and pay for florists. Therefore, he predicted lower profit this year.
Duong Lien, the owner of Hoa Lan Viet shop in Long Bien District, said imported flowers this year made up one-third of last year’s volume and that she only imported flowers upon request. Her shop specializes in Sapa earth orchids, which are priced at VND500,000-600,000 a branch.
At present, Bac Viet Flowers Co. is buying varieties from local research institutes or importing from China and Taiwan for cultivation in Dan Phuong, Hanoi. However, Bich admitted some 70% of the orchids on the market are imported from China and Taiwan.
Without long-time customers, local enterprises cannot compete with imported flowers given their lower prices, said Bich.
Still, Chinese orchids are not durable and lack brilliant colors, she added, while domestic flowers can remain fresh for two or three months after Tet.
Thuy of Flora Vietnam shared the same view, saying Chinese flowers would neither bloom nor grow from the time of purchase to withering.
The owner of a flower shop in Dalat said Chinese flowers are small, short, and unattractive, while Dalat flowers have tall stems, big petals, a longer lifespan and strong resistance to weather.
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