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| Lóng Luông Commune is one of the largest peach-growing areas in Văn Hồ District in Sơn La. Photo laodong.vn |
SƠN LA – Highland residents in Sơn La province have been earning hundreds of millions of đồng selling Tết peach blossoms.
Every Tết, the peach blossom market in Sơn La Province is bustling with activity.
Many traders purchase peach branches and trees to supply neighbouring markets. This has provided peach growers with high incomes, significantly improving their quality of life.
Currently, Văn Hồ District has around 1,000 hectares under peach trees, with Lóng Luông Commune being one of the largest peach-growing areas in Văn Hồ District.
The cultivation of peach branches and trees provides a stable and substantial income for locals during annual Lunar New Year celebrations.
Peach trees have become a key crop and a primary source of income for ethnic minority communities in the area.
Mùa A Thu, a Mông ethnic farmer in Co Chàm Village, Lóng Luông Commune, has been growing and selling peach branches for 15 years. He used to help his father and grandfather plant peach trees when he was young.
In the past, peach trees were mainly grown for their fruit, which generated limited income.
In recent years, however, traders from various provinces and cities have sought out peach branches and trees for lowland markets, significantly increasing their value.
Thu’s family now has nearly four hectares with 500 peach trees.
Trees that are six years or older can yield high-value branches.
Notably, his family has several peach trees that are over 30 years old.
With careful investment and care, their peach trees produce thick branches with many buds, vibrant blooms, and long-lasting flowers.
Each year, about one month before the Lunar New Year, traders from provinces like Thanh Hóa, Nghệ An, and Hà Nội place deposits to purchase peach branches and grafted peach tree trunks.
This year, his family sold around 1,000 peach branches and 100 grafted peach trunks for approximately VNĐ350 million (US$14,000), along with earning VNĐ150 million from selling peach fruit.
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| Long-grown trees with moss, lichen, and rugged, artistic shapes can fetch tens of millions of đồng. Photo laodong.vn |
Mùa A Đùa, also from Co Chàm Village, Lóng Luông Commune, shared that his family used to rely primarily on motorcycle repair work and didn’t have much land for growing peach trees.
Recognising the high market demand for the region’s old peach trees, which have moss-covered trunks and are favoured in the lowlands, he began purchasing and grafting local peach trunks two years ago.
In 2025, Đùa expects to sell nearly 500 grafted peach trunks, with prices ranging from VNĐ1.5 million to VND15 million per tree, averaging VNĐ3 million per tree. This will bring him an estimated income of VNĐ1.5 billion.
According to traders, this year’s peach blossoms are beautiful and blooming just in time for Tết, resulting in higher prices than last year.
Depending on the shape, number of buds, and peach variety, many households sell branches and grafted trunks for millions of đồng.
Long-grown trees with moss, lichen, and rugged, artistic shapes can fetch tens of millions of đồng.
Nguyễn Ngọc Long, a trader from Thanh Hóa Province, shared that every year, as Tết approaches, he and several friends travel to Văn Hồ to purchase peach branches.
Customers in the lowlands highly favour these peach blossoms because they are naturally grown in Sơn La Province, particularly in Văn Hồ District, which has a climate and soil ideal for producing large, beautiful flowers with many buds and moss-covered trunks.
Furthermore, peach branches come in a variety of prices, making them accessible to a wide range of customers and ensuring they sell quickly.
Currently, peach trees are grown around homes, on fields, and on hillsides in villages such as Pa Kha, Lóng Luông, and Co Chàm in Lóng Luông Commune, as well as in other highland communes of Văn Hồ District.
During the peach blossom season, many households also invest in tourism to attract visitors for sightseeing, experiences, and photography, further increasing their income.
Giàng A Dê, Chairman of the Lóng Luông Commune People’s Committee, noted that peach trees are one of the commune’s key crops, and the Lunar New Year is the main harvest season.
In recent years, the commune has organised a Peach Blossom Festival to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values of Lóng Luông’s ethnic communities and to honour the beauty of peach blossoms and the local landscape.
This initiative has attracted numerous tourists, boosting tourism development and helping local residents sell their peach blossoms more effectively. It has also contributed to poverty reduction and improved living standards, enabling many households to achieve prosperity.
Thanks to favourable natural and climatic conditions, Văn Hồ District has maintained a stable area of peach cultivation in recent years.
Consequently, the lives of ethnic communities in the district have steadily improved. – VNS/OVIETNAM
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