HCM CITY – As Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday approaches, spaces for lease to sell ornamental flowers, fruit trees and other goods in supermarkets, markets and along roads is “hot” across the country.

As usual, many types of ornamental flowers are being sold at flower shops. But traders and gardeners have also rushed to find a place to sell peach blossoms and miniature orange citrus trees ahead of Tết.

Nguyễn Ngọc Phương, owner of Phương Bình apricot  blossom garden in HCM City’s Thủ Đức District, said he had to spend nearly a month and around  VNĐ300 million (US$13,300) to rent space for selling apricot blossoms, Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper reported.

Three lots of land on Phạm Văn Đồng Road cost VNĐ150 million ($6,660), he said. According to Phương, three years ago, a lease in the area was only VNĐ10-15 million per plot. But since many roads have been closed for selling goods, the price of rent has jumped constantly, causing difficulty for gardeners, he said.

Nguyễn Trường Kỳ, a gardener in Linh Đông Ward, said that every year he rented many places in the city to sell apricot blossoms, but this year many places and pavements along city roads were prohibited from selling.

“I am not satisfied with the lot of land that I rent already, but I have no choice because the good locations are full,” Kỳ said.

According to a plan promulgated by HCM City People’s Committee, flower markets for Tết will be held at 130 localities. However, flower markets are not allowed to gather near areas that are at risk of causing traffic jams, creating extra difficulties for sellers.

Hoàng Quân, an apricot-blossoms seller in Thủ Đức District said that he had to register with organizers for several weeks to get a place in District 10 to sell flowers.

According to him, the price of blossoms this year is likely to increase slightly due to the high rentals.

Some places used for selling flowers ahead of Tết every year have now been relocated at the back of high-rise buildings.

Deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of District 2, Huỳnh Thanh Khiết, said that this year, the local flower market for Tết would be moved to the land used to build a cultural centre in An Phú Ward.

To get a good place to sell flowers in the city centre, many sellers have had to pay tens of millions đồng, double the prices regulated by the State, the newspaper reported.

Many businesses also took advantage of social networking and online sales to sell their products. However, they also had to spend a lot of money to push advertising on social networks.

Huỳnh Kim Nga, director of KN Food Company, said he had registered to sell products on three different e-commerce websites along with posting their products on the company’s Facebook.

The demand of leasing space in trade centres and supermarkets is also on the rise.

More than a month ago, many retailers signed contracts with trade centres to rent space for selling goods before Tết.

A director of a company specialising in selling bonsai said that he had to choose a supermarket in the suburbs to rent a space to sell their products because all trade centres and supermarkets in the centre were full.

Nguyễn Đình Nam, director of HCM City Branch of Hoàng Phú Cashew Nut Company, said that the demand for Tết could increase by 20 to 30 times. However, the price for land lease in supermarkets was too high, so he had to choose the other way.

Heads of supermarkets and trade centres are also tired. The amount of goods for Tết increases by at least 20 – 25 per cent, so retailers also need more space. They have to rent more warehouses to store goods.

If consumption is slower than expected, supermarket warehouses would be overloaded, a supermarket manager said. — VNS