NAGAPATTINAM: The mood among flower farmers of Vedaranyam is not upbeat as it usually is during Ayutha Poojai every year. With the festival falling at a later date in the calendar, the change in weather and the settling in of mist has resulted in a drop in production and supply. "Ayutha Poojai is coming two weeks later than usual.
The past week has been misty in Vedaranyam and we are nearing winter, so the flowers aren't blooming as much," said R Sritharan, a flower farmer from Karuppambulam in Vedaranyam block. Vedaranyam is the only block in the district where floriculture is the major crop, and jasmine flowers ('malligai' and 'mullai') are cultivated in around two thousand acres, and is common across villages like Karuppambulam, Ayakkaranpulam, Maruthur, Vaimedu, Thambirankudikadu, Kadinalvayal and Kuravapulam.
Each village has around 500 to 1,000 households cultivating jasmine, and the produce from here is procured by traders from Mannargudi, Pattukottai, Karaikal and Mayiladuthurai. While the non-festival procurement rates of Malligai and Mullai are around Rs 230 and Rs 300 currently, during Ayutha Poojai season the procurement rates go as high as Rs 400 and Rs 500.
The procuring traders supply them to traders in other districts either through middlemen or directly. But with a drop in supply, some believe the rate to go up much higher. "There is about a 25 % drop in the procurement from farmers due to mist. The rates could shoot up in the market as close to Rs 1,000 due to reduced supply and increased demand," said K Baskar, a procuring trader from Ayakkaranpulam in Vedaranyam block.
