THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the state gears up to celebrate Onam, the city streets are dotted with flowers of different hues. However, for the flower merchants in the district, business has still not picked up. The rising number of Covid cases in the state has prevented the residents from venturing out of their homes, dampening their business this year too.
During Onam, the flower markets witness huge demand from various offices, shops and educational institutions which buy flowers for making ‘Pookkalam’, a floral carpet made for the festival.
However, with most of the offices and educational institutions remaining closed and celebrations cut down due to the current situation, there are hardly any takers for the flowers. The sky-rocketing prices of the flowers has also added to the worries of the vendors. There are about 1,200 men and 500 women in the district who earn a livelihood by selling flowers. This include street vendors, wholesale and retail dealers. However, it has been four years since they did good business.
Vinu M, a wholesale flower dealer who runs Sreelakshmi Flowers, says, “The floods and the pandemic that followed have affected the sales and we are struggling to feed our families. The flowers sold in the district arrive from places such as Salem, Dindigul, Hosur, Madurai and Coimbatore. The farming of each type of flower is done according to the occasion. However, even farming has been halted due to the pandemic outbreak. As the farmers suffered huge losses and were forced to throw away their yield due to the lack of demand, the flowers are being sold at higher prices this Onam.”
Flowers such as rose, jasmine, lotus, arali (nerium oleander) have arrived in the markets in Palayam, Chalai and Karamana. However, their prices have gone up threefold. “Jasmine which was sold at Rs 250 per kg is now being sold atRs 1,500. Marigold flowers available in hues of yellow and orange which were sold at Rs 50 per kg are now being sold at `150 per kg. Prices of other flowers have also gone up when compared to the previous years. We have reduced our stocks of flowers, considering the fall in customers,” said Vinu.
S Sreekumar Nair, joint secretary of Trivandrum Florist Association, said, four years back the wholesale flower merchants used to earn around `30 lakh during the Onam season. However, after the floods and the pandemic, the sales dipped to `5 lakh.
“Depending on Onam sales, the flower merchants frame out a year-long plan. The sales begin on the first day of Atham. However, sales haven’t picked up yet as people are staying indoors. Like last year, we don’t expect much sales this year,” said Sreekumar.
FADING HUES
There are about 1,200 men and 500 women in the district who earn a livelihood by selling flowers, including street vendors, wholesale and retail dealers
Flowers have arrived from other states in the markets in Palayam, Chalai and Karamana.
However, the prices of all these flowers have gone up threefold