Florists across the country have been having a hectic time as flower sales marked a sharp rise on the advent of the Pahela Falgun and Valentine's Day, when numerous people – especially the youths – throng flower shops to buy gifts and bouquets for their loved ones.

Demand for red roses – the most widely recognised symbol of love and passion everywhere – was particularly high, centering the two celebrations.

Sales of flowers in Dhaka city alone might amount to about Tk10-12 crore on occasion of the Pahela Falgun and Valentine’s Day, Abul Kalam, president of Shahbagh Bottala Small Flower Traders Cooperative Society, told the Daily Sun.

Abdur Rahim, president of Bangladesh Flowers Society in Jashore – a hub of flower cultivation, told the Daily Sun that farmers and florists in the area aimed to sell products worth Tk30-35 crore centering the two festivals this year.

He said the sale of flowers is good this season and farmers and florists were getting good prices.

“Production of rose was low this year due to adverse weather, but farmers may recover losses by charging high prices. However, some businessmen imported Indian roses on Monday that drove down the prices of the local varieties,” he added.

Aside from the floral shops ramping up their supplies, many vendors set up temporary flower shops on roadsides in Dhaka, Chattogram, Khulna, Jashore, Sylhet, Barishal and other cities across the country to make quick profits during the two celebrations.

Florists in the capital stockpiled flowers of different varieties, including rose, gerbera, gladiolus, tuberose, and marigold, eyeing a spike in sales on these two festivals.

Md Elias, a florist of Golap Bitan at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar in the capital, said the demand for red roses is high due to Valentine’s Day while people are also demanding other flowers to celebrate the Pahela Falgun.

Nur Mohammad, president of the Flower Growers and Flower Traders Association at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar in the capital, told the Daily Sun that they witnessed huge sales of flowers this year and the wholesale market witnessed trading around Tk5-6 crore of flowers on Monday and Tuesday.

However, he too complained that some traders imported roses from India, hurting the business of the local farmers and traders.

Imam Hossain, a flower grower who came to a wholesale shop in Sher-E-Bangla Nagar from Jashore, told the Daily Sun that he brought 4,400 roses to the market, but 2,600 of them were yet to be sold as of Tuesday afternoon.

“The wholesale prices of roses were Tk15, 18, and 20 per piece, depending on their quality, in the morning but the price declined to Tk10 per piece in the afternoon. On Monday, a red rose sold at Tk20-25 per piece at Godkhali in Jashore. The price of the local rose has fallen due to the import of Indian roses,” he said.

Md Elias, a florist of Golap Bitan at Sher-E-Bangla Nagar, said the retail price of local Lincoln Rose on Tuesday was Tk30 per piece and that of Miranda Rose was Tk30 per piece.

“Local Chinese roses were sold at Tk60 per piece while imported Chinese roses of red, pink, yellow, velvety red and some other colours were sold at Tk80-85 per piece,” he added.

However, retail flower shops in different areas of Dhaka city, including Mohammadpur, Mirpur, Bashundhara, and Moghbazar, are charging higher prices for roses, especially for the red ones.

Ariful Islam, a university student, said he bought five local roses at Tk80 per piece while the price of imported roses is Tk100 per piece.