MUMBAI : Bandra resident Amit Pinto left home in the morning on Sunday to buy a big bouquet of red roses . Instead , he brought home a bunch of various flowers , with roses peeping out of daisies , lilies and carnations . Jenny , his Valentine , did not complain.
"This year , we won't exchange pure bouquets of roses ," she said , looking a little downcast . "Amit found at the florist next door that the prices of roses are double what they are usually . Since we wanted a big bunch , he went to the wholesale market in Dadar ."
Inflation , Jenny said , has not spared even flowers . But inflation—in the sense of the price trend bedevilling the nation—is not the culprit here . The reason why rose prices have gone through the roof is that suppliers (in Pune and Bangalore ) have exported 50% of the stock meant for Mumbai to the Netherlands , Japan and Singapore to make greater profits .
The export was sudden . "The deal between the suppliers and the buyers abroad was signed on Friday ," said a wholesaler at the Dadar market on the condition of anonymity . "Today , I saw many men who had come to buy Valentine's Day bouquets settle for bunches of mixed flowers . They looked disappointed ."
Another wholesaler at the market , Prashant Thakur , said that last year the flower market sold over two lakh roses of the better varieties . "But this time round , we won't be able to sell even a lakh .
"A bud of Bordeaux rose , considered to be among the best varieties and used mainly in Valentine's Day bouquets , is costing Rs 15-20 compared to Rs 5-8 last year . A handsome bouquet cannot be made for anything less than Rs 1,000. People , as usual , are coming in large numbers , but are buying less."
Rahul Bhuyan of Florista India Private Ltd said the prices of imported roses are even more . "Against about Rs 20 a bud till 2010, these varieties cost around Rs 30 this year ."
Thakur said he expects business to be down by half from last year . "The rise in prices has not spared even the lower varieties of rose like yellow , pink and orange . Shortages have also hit some other flowers , mainly lilium and anthurium , the prices of which seldom fluctuate . So well, lovebirds are paying through their noses ."
But it would be a long stretch to say that this has dampened their spirits . Jenny said she has lovingly put Amit's flowers in a vase , which will adorn their table while they have "breakfast together in the morning on Monday" .
"This year , we won't exchange pure bouquets of roses ," she said , looking a little downcast . "Amit found at the florist next door that the prices of roses are double what they are usually . Since we wanted a big bunch , he went to the wholesale market in Dadar ."
Inflation , Jenny said , has not spared even flowers . But inflation—in the sense of the price trend bedevilling the nation—is not the culprit here . The reason why rose prices have gone through the roof is that suppliers (in Pune and Bangalore ) have exported 50% of the stock meant for Mumbai to the Netherlands , Japan and Singapore to make greater profits .
The export was sudden . "The deal between the suppliers and the buyers abroad was signed on Friday ," said a wholesaler at the Dadar market on the condition of anonymity . "Today , I saw many men who had come to buy Valentine's Day bouquets settle for bunches of mixed flowers . They looked disappointed ."
Another wholesaler at the market , Prashant Thakur , said that last year the flower market sold over two lakh roses of the better varieties . "But this time round , we won't be able to sell even a lakh .
"A bud of Bordeaux rose , considered to be among the best varieties and used mainly in Valentine's Day bouquets , is costing Rs 15-20 compared to Rs 5-8 last year . A handsome bouquet cannot be made for anything less than Rs 1,000. People , as usual , are coming in large numbers , but are buying less."
Rahul Bhuyan of Florista India Private Ltd said the prices of imported roses are even more . "Against about Rs 20 a bud till 2010, these varieties cost around Rs 30 this year ."
Thakur said he expects business to be down by half from last year . "The rise in prices has not spared even the lower varieties of rose like yellow , pink and orange . Shortages have also hit some other flowers , mainly lilium and anthurium , the prices of which seldom fluctuate . So well, lovebirds are paying through their noses ."
But it would be a long stretch to say that this has dampened their spirits . Jenny said she has lovingly put Amit's flowers in a vase , which will adorn their table while they have "breakfast together in the morning on Monday" .
TOI
