Flowers, a symbol of beauty and purity, are always in demand in the country. People’s love for flowers is eternal. In addition, flowers are needed throughout the year in different types of programmes including weddings, birthdays, and birth anniversaries. There are also national and international festivals like Ekushey February and Valentine’s Day.
In the coming Valentine’s Day and International Mother Language Day, at least 100 crore flower businessmen are planning to make money. Farmers and retail shops are now passing busy time with their flowers. Daud Hossain, president of the flower traders association, said, “The demand for flowers will increase several times in a few days.”
We are preparing that way. Particularly centering on the two days flowers worth Tk 70-90 crore will be sold. It will benefit both farmers and traders, he added. However, due to traffic in ferry terminals, in many places flowers get damaged due to lack of timely delivery of flowers including Dhaka-Chattogram and Cumilla.
Deputy Director of the District Agriculture Extension Department, Kripangshu Shekhar Biswas, said, “The farmers are busy during the flower season. They are given the necessary advice. Besides, they have been asked to give medicines regularly.” He also said, “The district administration and the concerned have been instructed to pass flower containing trucks at Ferry terminals post haste. I received positive assurance from them.”
The flowers will reach different parts of the country in a timely manner, he stressed. Some flower markets in the capital Agargaon, Shahbag and Farmgate are known to be visited, most of the flowers are being brought from Gadkhali in Jashore. Due to the demand for flowers throughout the country on the occasion of Valentine’s Day, the price is a bit higher. Besides, the cost of transportation has also increased. As a result, the price of flowers has increased slightly in the market, traders said.
AR Bachchu Khan, president of Agargaon Wholesale Flower Market Association and vice president of Bangladesh Flower Association, said, "We have to be busy for sale some days of the year. We will bring flowers to the capital from various parts of the country including Gadkhali, Jhenaidah, Savar. On the day we will do our best to deliver fresh flowers to the buyer.”
The flower farmers and traders of Jashore’s Jhikargacha Upazila, one of the largest flower markets of the country, are optimistic about a big sale – more than Tk 70 crore – this month, Bangladesh Flower Society says. About 6,000 farmers of Jashore have cultivated flowers on 1,500 hectares. They are now busy with irrigation, using caps on the rose buds, spraying pesticides, weeding, and nurturing flowers.
Farmers from Gadkhali, Panisara, Haria, Potuapara, Taora, Matikorma, Baisha, Kaoria villages of the upazila cultivate rose, gerbera, gladiolus, tuberose, marigold, and chrysanthemum. Rahmat, from Panisara Mathpara, says he cultivated flowers on four bighas. “We used caps on the rose buds for late blooming to catch the market ahead of the three major events,” he says. “I spent Tk 4 on each cap and I hope to sell a rose at Tk 7-8.”
Anju Sarkar, a four-time national award recipient from Mulgram village in Keshabpur Upazila, says she is expecting to sell flowers worth Tk 8 lakh this month. The ‘Phul Boudi’, as she is known in the locality, has cultivated roses of different varieties, marigold, bela (beli), Jarbera, gladiolus, tube-rose, and chrysanthemum (chandramallika).
She says she has cultivated flowers on six bighas in Keshabpur and on two bighas in Magura. “The political situation is good this year and I hope the sales will be brisk,” she says. Abdur Rahim, president of Bangladesh Flower Society, says flower cultivation was introduced in the district in 1983 on only 30 decimals of land.
Now a total of 3,500 hectares of land have been brought under flower cultivation. “This district supplies 70 percent of the total demand for flowers,” Rahim says. Flowers produced in Godkhali are also sold in overseas markets of Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates, he notes.
“The government should take steps to revive the flower business,” he says. “A permanent flower market should be set up in Dhaka to help this business bloom.”
