Sales pick up in nurseries, flower shops

Nursery owners of Gazipur’s Sreepur upazila are making lucrative profits as sales pick up surrounding the celebrations in February.

Sreepur’s flower growers and traders expect around Tk 50 lakh worth of flower sales in February centring the three occasions of Spring Festival, Valentine’s Day and International Mother Language Day.

The demand for flowers increases exponentially during these celebrations, keeping both flower growers and vendors busy with ensuring the flow of supply as per demand.

Commercial cultivation of various types of flowers is increasing in different areas of the upazila as modern farming methods make cultivation easier.

Florists said that despite the surplus supply of flowers, the prices have also increased by a significant margin.

Humayun Kabir, the owner of Faruk Nursery in Telihati union, said the demand for roses, flower crowns and garlands spikes during the Spring Festival and Valentine’s Day. Recently, gerbera flowers are also in demand as a hair accessory.

“However, some seasonal retailers sell flowers for double, or triple the price trying to make a quick profit. This damages the industry’s image to the buyers,” he said.

Abul Kalam, the owner of Maa-Babar Doa Nursery in the Dombarichala area, said “Many growers are losing interest in flower cultivation as it is losing market against plastic flowers. We have to compensate for the whole year with these occasional sales boosts.”

The prices have increased in the last two weeks in the upazila. Last week the prices of roses increased from Tk 20-30 to Tk 50-70 in retail shops. While it was being sold for Tk 40-50 at a wholesale rate.

Gladiolas are being sold for Tk 800-1,000 per 100 pieces, marigolds for Tk 200-250 per 100 pieces, roses of different colours for Tk 800 per 100 pieces, tuberose for Tk 50 each, a bundle of dahlias for Tk 80-100, and gypsy flowers for Tk 70 each bundle.

Ready-made flower garlands are being sold for Tk 150-200, while the price of custom orders varies depending on the flowers used. The prices of ready-made medium-sized mixed-flower baskets are Tk 400 while a bouquet of various flowers is Tk 300-350.

During a spot visit to the flower shops of different unions of the upazila including Barma, Maona, and Kaoraid on February 14, this correspondent found them to be overcrowded with people celebrating the spring festival.

Many flower enthusiasts were interested in buying potted flower plants as a gift for their loved ones. After the first wave of sales for the month, nursery owners are currently busy preparing for the next celebration of International Mother Language Day.

Nature lovers are also picking flower farms as travel destinations to spend quality time with their loved ones. Cashing in on this trend, some flower farmers are charging visitors a small fee to roam around their farms. This has also worked in their favour as advertisement and boosted sales.

The proprietor of the famous tulip garden Moumita Flowers in the upazila, Delwar Hossain said he grows different sorts of flowers but his tulip farm has gained popularity in the last two years.

“I expect a good amount of sales throughout the month. The number of visitors has also increased recently. We sell flowers as well as potted plants at wholesale and retail prices,” he added.

He added that he received a positive response from retailers who bought tulips from him to sell at the market.

Rahim Uddin, a flower seller in the Maona Chowrasta area, said “I made a profit of Tk 20,000 on Tuesday. I expect higher sales next Tuesday as more wreaths will be sold on that day and they are of a higher price than garlands.”

Ariful Islam, the owner of Sabuj Nursery in the Joina Bazar area, said the flowers are sprayed with fungicides and other chemicals to extend their shelf life and prevent losses for the traders.

“As the prices are increased during special occasions, we made a good profit last Tuesday. I expect over Tk one lakh worth of sales next week,” he added.

Sreepur Upazila Agriculture Officer Sumaiya Sultana Banna said flowers have been cultivated on 4,000 hectares of land in the upazila this season.

“Roses, marigolds, dahlia and Indian shots are among the most commonly cultivated flowers in the upazila. The soil and climate of Sreepur are suitable for flower cultivation,” she said adding that the agriculture office is cooperating with the farmers to boost production.