It’s that time of the year again, when hearts beat faster as lovers exchange roses to mark St Valentine’s Day. And this year once again, Namma City Bengaluru has seen a huge demand for the long stemmed red.
At the International Flower Auction, there has been a 30 per cent increase in the number of roses that has been sold in Bengaluru compared to 2011.
Last year, the sale was recorded at around Rs 1.45 crore. On the eve of St. Valentines Day, florists, who had one eye on the moral police, in the city were delighted at the soaring sales.
“Even though this year, the prices are high, still the sale has been very good. We have till now sold over 7,000 rose stems and we are hopeful, it will go up on Valentine’s Day,” said Ajith Kumar, a florist at Marappa Gardens in the city.
Even though climate change has caused a shortfall in rose production in Karnataka, florists in the city are ensuring that there is no dearth of roses. The price of roses has touched Rs 20 — it was rs 10 last year — but sales have not dropped.
In the International Flower Auction in Hebbal as of Monday evening, a total of 5 lakh long stemmed roses had already been auctioned.
