ĐÀ LẠT — As Tết (Lunar New Year) approaches, authorities in the Central Highland province of Lâm Đồng’s Đà Lạt City are working to help flower farmers avoid losses, which occurred last year during the holiday season.

Phan Thành Sang, chairman of the Đà Lạt Flower Association, said the supply this year would be more than sufficient and that prices would remain affordable.

During a meeting with HCM City’s Department of Industry and Trade recently, Sang said that many Đà Lạt flower farmers had incurred great losses last Tết, as traffic congestion made it difficult to transport flowers from Đà Lạt to HCM City’s markets.

The travel time affected the quality of flowers and many of them could not be sold in HCM City. In addition, some farmers had to work with unreliable businesses that did not make their payments.

The association has asked the city to suspend the ban of trucks from certain roads during peak hours so that flowers can arrive at markets on time, and to foster networking and co-operation between farmers, businesses and retailers.

Nguyễn Huỳnh Trang, deputy director of the department, said she would ask the city to consider the association’s proposal, and to create opportunities for farmers and businesses for co-operation.  

Trang told the Người Lao Động (The Labourer) newspaper that Lâm Đồng and Đồng Tháp provinces were told in advance how many flowers would be needed for Tết in HCM City.

Districts in HCM City were also urged to reconsider the rental prices for areas used by farmers in the city to sell their flowers.  

Between 85 and 90 per cent of Đà Lạt flowers are sold domestically, mainly to HCM City, Đà Nẵng, Nha Trang and Vũng Tàu. — VNS