The unrest in neighbouring Karnataka has become a blessing in disguise for the floriculturists and flower traders here as they managed to send over 75 tonnes of flowers to Kerala for Onam celebrations on Tuesday.
After the ongoing riots in Karnataka have almost stopped the arrival of lorries carrying flowers and vegetables for Onam celebrations, the flower and vegetable markets in the district transacted brisk business with the traders from Kerala relying upon them to bridge this gap.
The flower and vegetable markets in Tenkasi, Pavoorchathram, Alangulam and Nainarkulam were flooded with the traders from Kerala, and naturally the suppliers here got premium on sale of these farm produces on Monday and Tuesday.
“More than 75 tonnes of flowers of various varieties was sent to Kerala on Monday and Tuesday, and we’ve also supplied a few hundred tonnes of vegetables to Kerala,” said a leading trader from the district.
The famous Thovalai flower market near Nagercoil has supplied 220 tonnes of flowers to Kerala within 15 hours since Monday 5 p.m. Though the sale of flowers for Onam celebrations was dull during the first few days of the celebrations, the unrest at Karnataka restrained most of the flower and vegetable suppliers there from taking the risk of sending the trucks to Kerala via Tamil Nadu.
Naturally, the flower and vegetable markets of Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari districts became the favourite destinations of Kerala traders that led to the ‘bumper sale’, the traders here say.
There was a huge demand for flowers on Tuesday and the price of all varieties skyrocketed.
The vegetable traders here too had a good sale after regular supply from Karnataka remained badly affected.
“We received hefty orders this time as Kerala traders failed to get positive reply from Karnataka suppliers and we managed to fulfil all the orders by getting the vegetables grown in hilly regions,” a Pavoorchathram-based vegetable supplier said.
