A shop selling orchids in HCM City. Demand for flowers and ornamental plants in the city has surged by 15 per cent annually. Photo Hoàng Tuyết

HCM CITY — Demand for flowers and ornamental plants in HCM City has surpassed its output, presenting great potential for the production of flowers and ornamental plants, a conference heard.

Demand for flowers and ornamental plants in the city has surged by 15 per cent annually and its production capacity of 20 million pots of flowers and ornamental plants is far below the consumption of 50 million pots of flowers and ornamental plants, said Nguyễn Hữu Hoài Phú, deputy director of the city’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The city needs to import flowers and ornamental plants from other localities and other countries to meet its consumption, Phú said at a conference held in HCM City on Thursday.

Around 2,500 households in the city grow flowers and ornamental plants on a total of 2,000 hectares of farming area, including 1,000 households growing orchid plants on 370 hectares of farming area.

Trần Thị Hường, head of the department’s cultivation office, said the city has huge potential for the development of new varieties of orchids with high economic value.

It has a pool of human resources at universities and institutions for research and production of seeds.

It also keeps pace with advanced technologies and techniques for farming flowers and ornamental plants in the world, she said.

However, investment for high-tech agriculture remains modest due to household small-scale farms, she added.

Bùi Minh Trí, from the University of Agriculture and Forestry in HCM City, said urban farming models with high efficiency are suitable for farming flowers and ornamental plants in the city.

The city needs to develop the cultivation of flowers and ornamental plants and a centre for producing and supplying high-quality seeds of flowers and ornamental plants

The city plans to supply around 30 million orchid plants a year by 2030. —VNS