Only 30% of flower sales target met in December

Flowers sold in December on the occasion of Martyred Intellectuals and Victory Day have met only 30 percent of the target, claimed the florists.

Since independence, the demand for flowers has increased on various national days including Martyred Intellectuals Day, Victory Day, February 21, and Independence Day. Celebrating or observing these days without flowers is beyond imagination. The poor state of the flower market has hit traders hard at the end of the year.

Flower growers and traders said flowers worth Tk 50 crore are sold in the country from December to March every year during the four main national days. In December alone, flowers worth several crore taka are sold across the country centring the Martyred Intellectuals Day and Victory Day.

This year, however, the scenario is different. Wholesale and retail flower traders in the capital's Agargaon, Shahbagh, Gulshan, Jatrabari, and other areas said that business is not going well this year.

Md Sohel Mia, a flower trader at Agargaon Flower Garden, said business was not as good as the previous years on December 14 and 16 this year.

Former general secretary of the Bangladesh Florists Society Imamul Hossain said, "We had a target of selling flowers worth Tk 2 crore in the capital on the occasion of Martyred Intellectual Day and Victory Day, but the target was not met. Only 30 percent of the target has been sold."

“This is because there are no programmes in schools, colleges, offices and courts this year and there are fewer meetings, gatherings and seminars. A huge number of flowers are rotting and the rotten flowers are being dumped every day,” he added.

President of Shahbagh Flower Traders Association and owner of Anika Flower Shop Md Abul Kalam said, “The business that was done during the Awami League and BNP regime is now facing losses.”

He said, “Last year, on December 14 and 16, I alone sold 130 floral tributes, and a total of 1,500 tributes were sold in Shahbagh. This year, only 50 were sold in the entire Shahbagh flower market. Due to the market downturn, I personally incurred losses worth Tk 1 lakh in these two days.”

Traders said there are 40 flower shops in Shahbagh. More or less every shop has suffered losses in business. Apart from flowers cultivated in different districts of the country, flowers were imported from India and China this year in the hope of good sales; but the overall sales did not meet expectations.

They said since the Shahbagh gate of the Dhaka University is closed in the evening, no one can enter the university area now. As a result, the flower business in this area has collapsed. Flower sales now get stopped after noon.

Kalam said, “Students of various colleges and universities come to visit the Dhaka University area, Institute of Fine Arts, Ramna Park and Suhrawardy Udyan and buy flowers. But due to various restrictions, buyers did not come this year in great numbers this year.”

Traders said flowers worth Tk 4 crore were sold in 40 shops of Shahbagh flower market last year. This year, it has decreased to around Tk 2 crore.

Agargaon Flower Garden flower trader Md Sohel Mia said, “There was no business on December 14 and December 16 this year, compared to the previous years. I am looking forward to Mother Language Day, February 21, and Independence Day, March 26, to make up the losses incurred in December.”

“Every year, flowers worth Tk 35-40 crore are sold in Dhaka city on the occasion of International Mother Language Day on February 21. Even during the Covid pandemic, we sold flowers worth Tk 10-15 crore. If the sales do not meet expectations on March 7, February 21, March 26, Bengali New Year and Valentine's Day, our businesses will collapse totally, because many of us are doing business on loans. Meanwhile, the prices of various flowers are also decreasing due to low demand for flowers,” he added.

Abir came to the Shahbagh flower market on Friday (December 20) to buy flowers from Mirpur in the capital. He said that he came to buy flowers for his brother's wedding. He bought roses for Tk 10 per piece, tuberose stick for Tk 20, gajra for Tk 50, wedding garland for Tk 400, and hair garland for Tk 150.

Wholesale traders said each stick of tuberose flower is selling for Tk 10, rose for Tk 12-15 per piece, gerberas are selling for Tk 10-17, Chandra Mallika for Tk 2-3 per piece and marigolds are selling for Tk 400-500 per thousand.

Traders claimed that they are facing huge losses this year due to selling flowers at a lower price than the price at which they buy them.

About 70 percent of the country's total demand for flowers comes from flower growers in Panisara, Navaran, Nirvankhola and Haria villages of Jhikargachha upazila in Jashore. Around 6,000 families are involved in this business there. In addition, flowers are being cultivated on 6,000 hectares of land in 26 other districts of the country. Traders believe that if the sale of flowers does not meet expectations, several lakhs of people involved in this business will be laid off, which will have an impact on the country's economy.