Lam Dong province plans to develop the Da Lat Flower brand to ensuresustainable development of the local flower industry and increase flowerexports.
Pham Van An, director of the Lam Dong province'sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the flowercultivation area in the province had doubled from 1,731 ha in 2003 to3,500 ha in 2010, leading to a surge in annual revenue of between 2billion VND and 2.5 billion VND per ha per year.
In 2011,the province's flower productivity reached 1.2 billion branches andexport turnover was worth 22 million USD. Da Lat contributed 50 percentof the total cultivation area and 70 percent of the annual output of theprovince.
"In recent years, flower growers in Da Lat haveenhanced the application of advanced technology in farming, packagingand preservation, improving yield and quality as well as reducingpost-harvest losses," he said.
"Most Da Lat flowers now are grown in greenhouses with automatic irrigation systems," he added.
There are more than 400 species of flowers and thousands of flower varieties in Da Lat.
However, the major concern of farmers and business is that Da Latflowers still depend heavily on the domestic market, especially HCMCity , and some central cities including Da Nang and Nha Trang.
"Apart from the local market, only a small amount of Da Lat flowers(around 110 million branches, about 11 percent of the province's yearlyoutput) is exported to Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US,Thailand, the Netherlands, Singapore and Cambodia, " said Dr. Pham S,director of the Lam Dong Department of Science and Technology.
Da Lat's flower exports remain modest compared with its real potentials.
An of the agriculture department said Da Lat's limited flower exportswere due to inconsistent quality that has not satisfied strictrequirements of the world market.
Flower growers in thecity still rely on imported varieties which have increased flowerproduction costs. Worse still, local enterprises as well as localindividual flower growers have not been provided adequate information onthe international flower market.
They also lack experience in post-harvest preservation, packaging, packaging design, and marketing.
"All these limitations badly affect the competitiveness of Da Latflowers in the world market, particularly with those produced fromcountries with developed flower industries," he added.
Tosolve the problems facing the Da Lat flower industry and improve Da Latflowers' competitive ability in the world market, officials and expertshave proposed several measures, all of which are expected to helpincrease the city's flower exports.
Nguyen Minh Tam,deputy director of the Lam Dong Department of Science and Technology,said, that although Da Lat flowers were well-known in both domestic andoverseas markets, building the Da Lat Flower brand into a strong brandname was still a major job for local authorities and flower growers.
On December 30 last year, the Department of Intellectual Property underthe Ministry of Science and Technology granted the certificate "Hoa DaLat" (Da Lat Flowers) to Lam Dong People's Committee.
The‘Hoa Da Lat' brand, which has become a common asset among the communityof Da Lat producers and traders, is managed by Da Lat People'sCommittee.
However, Tran Huy Duong, chairman of the Da LatFlower Association, said that brands of local flower growers andtraders in Da Lat should also be developed so that flowers in Da Latcould gain international recognition.
"The Hoa Da Latbrand, the first of its kind in Vietnam , also needs to be registeredwith an international intellectual property organisation to protect itfrom being stolen," Duong said.
An of the agriculturedepartment said modern technology should be used in flower cultivationand post-harvest preservation activities such as mesh or green houses,automatic irrigation systems.
Pham Ngoc Trung, deputydirector of Lam Dong's Agriculture Extension Centre, recommended settingup a commodity circulation channel that willconnect flowers producerswith cooperatives, sales agents and wholesale markets.
TheGovernment and authorities of Lam Dong should have policies to helpflower growers learn about flower varieties, prices and markets in theworld so they can have proper cultivation plans to meet market demands,according to a representative of the Da Lat People's Committee./.
Pham Van An, director of the Lam Dong province'sDepartment of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the flowercultivation area in the province had doubled from 1,731 ha in 2003 to3,500 ha in 2010, leading to a surge in annual revenue of between 2billion VND and 2.5 billion VND per ha per year.
In 2011,the province's flower productivity reached 1.2 billion branches andexport turnover was worth 22 million USD. Da Lat contributed 50 percentof the total cultivation area and 70 percent of the annual output of theprovince.
"In recent years, flower growers in Da Lat haveenhanced the application of advanced technology in farming, packagingand preservation, improving yield and quality as well as reducingpost-harvest losses," he said.
"Most Da Lat flowers now are grown in greenhouses with automatic irrigation systems," he added.
There are more than 400 species of flowers and thousands of flower varieties in Da Lat.
However, the major concern of farmers and business is that Da Latflowers still depend heavily on the domestic market, especially HCMCity , and some central cities including Da Nang and Nha Trang.
"Apart from the local market, only a small amount of Da Lat flowers(around 110 million branches, about 11 percent of the province's yearlyoutput) is exported to Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US,Thailand, the Netherlands, Singapore and Cambodia, " said Dr. Pham S,director of the Lam Dong Department of Science and Technology.
Da Lat's flower exports remain modest compared with its real potentials.
An of the agriculture department said Da Lat's limited flower exportswere due to inconsistent quality that has not satisfied strictrequirements of the world market.
Flower growers in thecity still rely on imported varieties which have increased flowerproduction costs. Worse still, local enterprises as well as localindividual flower growers have not been provided adequate information onthe international flower market.
They also lack experience in post-harvest preservation, packaging, packaging design, and marketing.
"All these limitations badly affect the competitiveness of Da Latflowers in the world market, particularly with those produced fromcountries with developed flower industries," he added.
Tosolve the problems facing the Da Lat flower industry and improve Da Latflowers' competitive ability in the world market, officials and expertshave proposed several measures, all of which are expected to helpincrease the city's flower exports.
Nguyen Minh Tam,deputy director of the Lam Dong Department of Science and Technology,said, that although Da Lat flowers were well-known in both domestic andoverseas markets, building the Da Lat Flower brand into a strong brandname was still a major job for local authorities and flower growers.
On December 30 last year, the Department of Intellectual Property underthe Ministry of Science and Technology granted the certificate "Hoa DaLat" (Da Lat Flowers) to Lam Dong People's Committee.
The‘Hoa Da Lat' brand, which has become a common asset among the communityof Da Lat producers and traders, is managed by Da Lat People'sCommittee.
However, Tran Huy Duong, chairman of the Da LatFlower Association, said that brands of local flower growers andtraders in Da Lat should also be developed so that flowers in Da Latcould gain international recognition.
"The Hoa Da Latbrand, the first of its kind in Vietnam , also needs to be registeredwith an international intellectual property organisation to protect itfrom being stolen," Duong said.
An of the agriculturedepartment said modern technology should be used in flower cultivationand post-harvest preservation activities such as mesh or green houses,automatic irrigation systems.
Pham Ngoc Trung, deputydirector of Lam Dong's Agriculture Extension Centre, recommended settingup a commodity circulation channel that willconnect flowers producerswith cooperatives, sales agents and wholesale markets.
TheGovernment and authorities of Lam Dong should have policies to helpflower growers learn about flower varieties, prices and markets in theworld so they can have proper cultivation plans to meet market demands,according to a representative of the Da Lat People's Committee./.
