Wholesale flower prices have shot up in Coimbatore and Salem markets mainly because of drop in arrivals.
Coimbatore flower market merchants association treasurer Ayyappan said the price of Jasmine was more than ₹2,500 a kg (wholesale) on Sunday. A strand of Jasmine flowers was nearly ₹200. The wholesale price of Arabian jasmine (Mullai) was ₹ 2,000 a kg and Oleander (Arali) was ₹300 a kg. However, wholesale price of some varieties such as Chrysanthemum (Sevanthi) was ₹200 a kg as against the normal price range of ₹100 to ₹120 a kg.
Coimbatore got flowers from different growing centres, including some places in the district. Heavy rain for the last couple of months resulted in crop damages and hence arrivals had reduced, Mr. Ayyappan said. With prices shooting up, the sales was also not high. “Customers will buy for their requirements. But, if the prices are very high, they will reduce the purchases,” he said.
Selvakumar, president of the association, said the prices usually shot up after Pongal in January because production would fall during that period and demand would be high because of weddings. This year, the prices had shot up in December, he said.
In Salem too, which is a cultivation centre for some of the Jasmine varieties, the wholesale prices are ruling high. According to the traders, rain has affected production and hence, the volume of flowers that comes to the market every day has reduced. Further, demand is up because of weddings. These have led to high prices. The wholesale price of Spanish jasmine is ₹ 720 a kg, Nerium ₹ 260 a kg and Jasmine ₹2000 a kg.
