Costly Valentine awaits lovers

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Mahmuda Shaolin
Lovers planning to celebrate the Valentine's Day today (Thursday) will have to dig deep in their pockets this year, as an untimely rain in the winter has hit the flower production across the country, traders said Wednesday.
Traders in the country's biggest flower market at Shahbagh said the prices of Rose, Gladiolas, Tulip, Gada and Gypsy have shot up by over 50 per cent in the past week because of the poor flower production across the country.
"The price of rose, the top selling flower in the country, rose to Tk 500 per bundle of 100 flowers at the wholesale market this week, which was Tk 150 even a month ago," said Yadu Howlader, a salesman of Shahjahan flower house.
A 50-piece bundle of Tulip was on Tuesday selling at Tk 150 at the wholesale market, almost double the price in January, traders said.
"Farmers told us that they lost some 40 per cent of their production because of the untimely rain in January," said Babul Prosad Dasharath, the president of Dhaka flower merchants association.
"And it happened just before the Valentine's Day, when the demand for flowers is the highest in the city."
"You have to forget a cheap Valentine's Day celebration this year," he said, warning that the prices of a single rose could soar as high as Tk 30 at the city's over 1000 flower shops during the Valentine's Day.
According to the flower merchants association, there are around 10,000 flower farmers concentrated in the western districts of Jessore, Jhenidah and areas around the capital.
Some 70 per cent of their production, worth about Tk 15 million head to the capital Dhaka.
Traders said the demand for flower is the highest in February because of the twin celebrations of the Valentine's Day and the Language Martyrs' Day on February 21.
Usually, they merchants started to build a big stock of flowers from the first week of February and placed demand to the farmers at least three months back.
"But this year, most of the farmers have failed to supply the required amount of flower that we have demanded," said Mohammad Suman, the owner of Tarak Puspaloy.
Even the imported flowers such as carnation, China Lily, Gerbera have sky-rocketed because of their soaring prices in the international market.
Dasharath said he has imported half a million pieces of flowers from China, India and Thailand ahead of the Valentine's Day, but this year his import cost was at least 80 per cent higher.
Flower prices almost doubled in the global market last year because of poor harvest and inclement weather in China, India, Thailand, Turkey and the Netherlands.