In another 15 days,the season for traditional festive flowers like marigold and chrysanthemum would end but already most farmers and traders are counting their losses. This is because two key festivals Diwali and Dussehra were early by at least a fortnight this year,while most of the flower produce is reaching the market now after the festive season. Normally,Dussehra falls in mid-October,while Diwali in November. This year,these festivals were early by a fortnight and as a result the flowers were late in the market. Growers and traders were unable to take advantage of the high prices,which often goes as high as Rs 70 per kg,during these two festivals. As a result their business during this season was much lower this year. For the buyers,chrysanthemum and marigold will be cheaper this November because of increased supply. Only 20 per cent of the flowers were sold during Dussehra and Diwali. Even if the prices were high,the supply of flowers was quite less. In a year,most of the flowers are sold in a span of two to three days during these two festivals. This year,the maximum sale got over in a span of over a month and that too at lower prices, said Arun Veer,a flower trader. Most growers began sending flowers only from last week of October,but the prices they are getting has been comparably less. Farmers and traders suffered losses between 30 to 50 per cent this festive season, Veer added. Farmer Sanjay Chorge from Urli Kanchan grew kapri,another variety of chrysanthemum and a festive flower,on a large chunk of land. But he was not able to recover his initial expenditure of Rs 4,000 as the flowers arrived only last week in the market. During Diwali,we might have got Rs 20 per kg,now we are getting somewhere between Rs 2 and Rs 5 per kg. I have been able to recover only Rs 2,500 till now Chorge said. Traders said even the flowers that came during Diwali were damaged to an extent because of the unseasonable rains in late September and therefore yielded lower prices. However,the ongoing wedding season has been a saving grace for growers. Similarly,last week an annual religious ceremony in Goa generated large-scale demand for traditional flowers. If we sell marigold and chrysanthemums during Diwali and Dussehra,farmers would get anywhere between Rs 50 to Rs 70 per kg. But now they are getting only around Rs 20 per kg,that might increase up to Rs 30 during wedding season, said Appa Gaikwad,a trader.
