Hyderabad: The Gudimalkapur flower market, the largest in Telangana, is reporting twice the normal demand in the festive season, despite the exorbitant prices.
Bonalu and the Shravan month have shot up prices in the market. Champa flowers (plumeria), mogra (jasmine), rose, parijat and datura, among others, were in high demand.
Gudimalkapur market receives 12,904 kg of chrysanthemum (chamanthi) flowers during the festival, which is a lot more than what they receive throughout the year. On regular days, the price of a kg of chamanthi was around Rs 100 but during the festival, the price tripled to Rs 300 per kg.
Flowers are imported from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Venkat Reddy, a flower shop owner, said, “You will see extra crowd only during festival times. Two or three days down the line, it is back to us and the regular customers. I have been here for 12 years. We increase prices when the demand is more and the production is less.”
Another retailer added, “I buy flowers every day. The price rise is quite normal during festivals. We buy daily because we cannot sell flowers the next day if they get spoiled. People who buy from us insist on selling at lesser rates but during the festival season, we can’t sell them at the price they demand.”
