After onions, roses are pinching

Price of the flower goes up four times before Valentine's Day

Price of the flower goes up four times before Valentine's Day

It is the Rose Day today but many youngsters might not find the flower to gift it to their loved ones. Reason, after food and fuel prices, costs of flowers in the Capital have sky-rocketed.

Painting the town red: A heart made of flowers was up for sale at
Connaught Place in New Delhi on Sunday. Pic/Imtiyaz Khan

And roses have been the worst hit. With a host of 'celebratory' days aheadu00a0 (Feb 7 is au00a0 Rose Day, Feb 8 Propose day, 9thu00a0 Chocolate day, 10thu00a0 Teddy day, 11thu00a0 Promise day, 12thu00a0 Hug day, 13th Kiss day and finally 14thu00a0 Valentine's Day), the prices of roses have risen four times their prices on February 6.

"On Sunday, a rose that cost Rs 100 a day before was sold at Rs 400. It is not just a simple price hike. The inflation has hit the flower market too. Besides roses, prices of other flowers too have risen and because of the marriage season, things are getting worse," said S.K Tiwari, a florist at Connaught Place.

And with inflation hitting the flower market, florists have alleged that some big and small traders in flowers have even started hoarding the roses during this season to reduce their supply in the market and increase their prices.
"Some prominent business men and even small florists are now holding back the supply of roses to create the demand and the subsequent price hike," added Tiwari.

When the prices rise

Last month, MiD DAY had reported that wedding planning and event management companies had started cutting down the usage of flowers in marriages and other functions because of their skyrocketing prices.
Companies said that they were finding it difficult to maintain the same volume of flowers due to immense price rise. As they could not cut cost on food and cocktails, they were forced to do so in non-essential commodities like flowers and decorations.
A bunch of 100 red roses cost Rs 150-200u00a0 in December. But it has gone up to Rs 500 now. "We have bought good synthetic flowers. They cost a bit more but they last as long as you need them. They can be used in three to four marriages, thus saving costs," said an official from a leading event management company in south Delhi on condition of anonymity.

Show season

As a part of its garden festivals, the Capital hosts an annual Rose Show, also known as International Horticulture exhibition, where visitors can see different types of roses from around the country.u00a0 This show is held in the month February at Purana Qila and is hosted by Delhi chapter of the YWCA. The show also witnesses summer garden competition, foliage plant show, home growing competition, winter garden competition, cactus and succulent show and dahlia show.