High price adds to woes of flower traders this Onam

Florists say flower growers, agents making up for losses due to pandemic

Four consecutive seasons of slump during Onam is not something the flower merchants in Chala market have ever experienced before. However, they manage to keep the business afloat. Starting with the successive floods of 2018 and 2019 and followed by the two years taken away by COVID-19, it has been quite a struggle for most of them. On Friday, the Uthradom day, things were rather looking up compared to the previous days, say traders, as there has been a steady flow of shoppers wanting a considerable quantity of flowers for Athappookkalam. But the high price of flowers has come as a downer. A kilogram of vadamalli, one of the preferred flowers for pookkalam, is now priced at ₹450, and jamanthi (marigold) is priced between ₹150 to ₹500 per kg depending upon the colour. "Many think we are hiking the prices ourselves to get extra profit during the COVID-19 period, but the fact is we are forced to purchase flowers at higher prices. Perhaps, flower growers and agents are trying to make up for the losses sustained in this period. We make only meagre profits," says Biju, who runs Sreelakshmi Flower Shop in the market.