Roses are grown nearly in 250 hectares in and around Bengaluru, including Hosakote, Anekal, Mandur and other places, according to The New Indian Express.

It reported that, daily, around 1,500,000 stems are sent to national and global markets, including the Gulf States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. On Valentine’s Day, more than 2,500,000 rose stems are forecast to be sold in Bengaluru alone, but there has been 30 percent decline in the yield, owing to deficit rainfall.

“Our family normally grows 250kg to 300kg of roses in six acres of land. We grow four varieties. But this time the yield has dropped down to 180kg. Shortage of water caused many buds to fall before blooming,” said Chandrappa, a rose grower in Mandur, around 15km from KR Puram. “Earlier, we would hire a separate Maruti van to supply roses to KR Market. Now, less yield of flowers forces three to four farmers to use one single Tempo Traveller.”

Another rose grower, Gopal, said “At Hosakote, rose yield was not that bad at the start of the season. However, heavy rain led to the fall of many buds and smaller flowers, ultimately leading to poor production. There is less supply of stemmed roses that are used to make bouquets. We are selling them to retail vendors for Rs 30 (USD $0.44) per bunch, which were sold for Rs 15 (USD $0.22) last year. The stemmed roses are always in demand on Valentine’s Day.”

“The vendors will sell the roses to bouquet shop owners at even higher rates. Ultimately the roses will be dearer to the customer,” he added.

Source: The New Indian Express, via FloralDaily