Early "Big Sale"

Along Lang Street (Dong Da, Hanoi), hundreds of peach, apricot, kumquat trees... with various shapes and sizes are displayed for sale. Almost all types of flowers here are in full bloom.

Peach pots are priced from 80,000 VND to millions of VND per pot depending on size. Mini kumquat and peach branches are priced from 50,000 to 100,000 VND per tree.

Buyers and sellers are bustling, with clearance signs all over the stalls of small traders. Many peach branches in full bloom are discounted to only 100,000 VND/branch, and even some small branches are only priced at around 40,000 VND/branch.

Traders said that this year, wild peach and mai flowers are mainly imported from Son La and Lang Son. Prices are much cheaper than last year because purchasing power has decreased sharply and the flowers have bloomed early.

Minh Tuan, a vendor along Lang Street, said that he has been selling flowers since December 20. Compared to last year's Tet, the number of flowers he sells has decreased by half. He said that this year, there are very few customers buying flowers, they mainly pass by the stalls and streets to look, not buy.

He said many people have the mentality of waiting until New Year's Eve to buy flowers, so right from the start of selling, he offered reasonable prices to convince buyers. "Now I will sell at any price. I will try to sell until New Year's Eve, hoping to sell out all of these peach blossoms so I can go home for Tet," Mr. Tuan sighed.

Many customers who bought trees on the 30th of Tet were surprised when this year the peach and kumquat trees had a "big sale" early. Mr. Nhat Dao (Cau Giay, Hanoi) shared that he was on his way home and saw the peach and kumquat trees had a big sale so he stopped by to take a look. He was surprised when the peach and kumquat trees lost their popularity early this year.

The tree is big, beautiful and cheap, so he bought a medium-sized tree for 350,000 VND/tree. He thinks that this year's economy is generally difficult, so the price of kumquat this year is also cheaper than previous years, even though the kumquat this year is very beautiful.

Clearance sale

On the evening of the 29th of Tet, Mr. Nguyen Huu Quy (33 years old, freelance worker) rode his motorbike to the center of Phung town (Dan Phuong district, Hanoi) to buy kumquats. The peach blossom branch Mr. Quy had bought earlier had already bloomed, so he wanted to replace it with kumquats to play with during Tet.

Mr. Quy wanted a kumquat tree taller than a person. The seller quoted the price at 900,000 VND, Mr. Quy bargained it down to 800,000 VND, but he had to carry it himself.

At noon on the 30th of Tet, Mr. Quy returned to the area where he had bought the kumquat tree earlier to find another small kumquat tree for his desk. At this time, the seller hung a sign with a price of 600,000 VND for kumquat trees similar to the one Mr. Quy bought yesterday, and the small trees were priced at 150,000 VND (the previous night they were priced at 200,000 VND).

According to a survey by Dan Tri reporters, on the section of Road 32 from Nhon (Bac Tu Liem District) to the Ba Dam Dang Women Monument (Dan Phuong District), the amount of kumquat, peach, and apricot flowers sold on the sidewalk is very large, however the number of buyers is not proportional.

A seller named Thu (from Hung Yen) said that this year there are few customers, buyers tend to choose kumquat or apricot trees for the table. For larger kumquat trees of the same size, Thu chooses to sell them at the same price.

Similarly, in the Black Bridge area, Ha Cau Street, Van Phuc Market (Ha Dong District), traders are also trying to sell off their goods in time to return home for the New Year. Many people are using the method of selling large kumquat trees at the same price of 600,000 VND and small trees at 200,000 VND.

Like every year, Ms. Hien (37 years old, Hanoi) and her husband went to buy kumquat trees on the 30th of Tet. She said that this year the number of buyers was less than in previous years, but the prices of ornamental plants were more expensive.

"Last year, these 600,000 VND trees were only about 500,000 VND, so we could bargain a little. This year, my family is planning to change things up," said Ms. Hien, and then she chose to buy a 500,000 VND apricot tree.

Video: Ghi Du