Vietnam's floriculture industry is set for a fillip with a Government project underway to boost both the quality and quantity of flowers grown in the country.
But insiders warn that a great deal of work lies ahead.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) the area under flower cultivation in the country is about 3,500ha.
But the US$6 million it earns each year from exporting flowers and bonsai to Japan, France, China and the Middle East is considered too meagre.
Insufficient investment in the industry was considered the main obstacle to developing commercial production.
To overcome the problem, MARD drew up a 10-year investment project to develop a high quality floriculture industry.
The $5 million project will see a further 8,400ha brought under flower cultivation, turning out annually 4.5 billion sprigs. The Institute for Agricultural Genetics has been chosen the project manager.
Began in 2000, the project has seen some initial progress: a 200sq.m wide experimental nursery has been built, as have two farms to grow seedlings, in Sa Pa and Van Giang districts.
The institute has provided 50,000 high quality chrysanthemum seedlings to local growers in Hanoi, Hai Phong and Bac Giang.
It also intends to supply various pure strains of flower seedlings to the local market. The institute will plant 50ha of these seedlings in its high quality flower gardens this year.
