Spring Festival and Valentine's Day are two special days for flower traders in Chattogram. The flower market becomes bustling, and buyers' interest in roses doubles. However, this time the picture was a little different. Flower shops are decorated with roses, gladiolus, marigolds, gerberas and other flowers. Although traders are preparing to sell flowers, the presence of buyers was comparatively less. Despite waiting for roses on the day before Valentine's Day, sales have slumped. While in previous years, flowers worth Tk. 1.5-2 crore were sold, this time the sales volume may be close to Tk. 50 lakh, traders say.
On Thursday (February 13) night, visiting flower shops on Cheragi Pahar and Momin Road, one could see various types of flowers including roses, gladiolus, marigolds, gerberas, chrysanthemums, marigolds and China lilies. The shops were full of arranged, folded and cut flowers. But the number of buyers was low.
This year's market is a bit disappointing for flower traders. Former president of the Chattogram Flower Traders Association, Qutub Uddin, told Barta24.com, "Every year we make special preparations for the spring festival and Valentine's Day. However, this time, sales have not been as expected because Shab-e-Barat, the Hindu Lagna and Friday coincide. There are about fifty flower shops in Chittagong, including Cheragi and Agrabad. These shops usually sell flowers worth Tk. 1.5-2 crore in these two-three days, but it is doubtful whether it will even reach Tk. 50 lakh this time." Tausif Uddin of Aparajita Pushpa Bitan also expressed similar disappointment and told Barta24.com, "Our preparations were good, but this time the sales are very low. The day before spring, the main day and the day after are the best days for business. But this time, people have reduced their flower purchases due to Shab-e-Barat and Lagna."
Meanwhile, flower farmer Abdul Quader said, we wait for this time every year. This time we have produced a lot of roses, marigolds, gladiolus and marigolds, but wholesale traders are buying less flowers and offering lower prices. As a result, we are afraid of losses.
However, some excitement has also been seen among buyers. Bank officer Imran Hossain told Barta24.com, I have come to buy white chrysanthemums for my mother. Although the prices were high earlier, this time they seem comparatively lower.
University student Rakib Hasan, who came to buy flowers, told Barta24.com that every year on this day the market is so crowded that there is no place to stand. This time the market seems empty. However, the prices seem a bit lower.
Teacher Tania Rahman has come to buy some flowers for her daughter. She told Barta24.com, my daughter likes marigolds, so I bought some. There is no commotion in the market like before.
The wholesale flower shops on Cheragi Pahar and Momin Road always have a lot of roses. This time too, there was no exception. Local roses were sold for Tk. 20-40, foreign red, white and pink roses were sold for Tk. 100-150. Sticks of marigolds were sold for Tk. 10-25, 10 pieces of white chrysanthemums for 50-100 taka, chrysanthemums of different colors including red and blue for 40-50 taka, gladiolus for 30-50 taka, 1,000 marigolds for 400-500 taka and gerberas for 30-40 taka. In addition, pieces of crowns were sold for 300-400 taka and China lilies for 450-600 taka.
Meanwhile, a lot of flowers were also bought and sold to give flowers to Shaheed Minar on February 21, Martyrs' Day and International Mother Language Day. Traders are hoping that even though sales are low during the Spring Festival and Valentine's Day, some of the losses can be made up for on February 21.
However, overall, sellers feel that the flower business in Chittagong has not been as expected during the Spring Festival and Valentine's Day this time.
According to the revised calendar of the Bangla Academy in 2020, Phalgun begins on February 14 instead of February 13. The spring festival is celebrated on that day. The same day is World Valentine's Day. In history, which is known as Saint Valentine’s Day? Traders sell flowers at higher prices around these days.