Conflicts, curfew cause flower industry to wilt: Growers, sellers face huge losses

Sohel Rana from Lakhaijani village in Naogaon grows roses, jasmine, and tuberose on 11 bighas of land. He usually sells flowers worth Tk10,000-15,000 daily. However, due to the week-long curfew and unrest centring on the quota reform protest, his sales came down to zero.

This has led to a loss of about Tk50,000 in unsold jasmine and roses, plus labour and general expenses of Tk5,000-7,000.

Florists and marketers across the country are facing significant losses. They note that if flowers are not harvested on time, the land is wasted.

Those sent to Dhaka from various districts are rotting due to a lack of buyers, with transportation costs rising by 25-30%. Concerns are growing about when the situation will return to normal.

"In normal times, if there is a problem for a day or two, we keep the flowers in the refrigerator. But we have not been able to sell them for a whole week now. The flowers in the refrigerator have also rotted. It is difficult for us to recover from this loss," Sohel Rana told TBS.

Jashore produces the most flowers in Bangladesh. Azizur Rahman from Jhikargacha upazila in the district grows indigenous tuberose and China rose on six bighas of land. He said he has lost at least Tk50,000 in the last five days.

The continuous heat wave and bad weather have hurt flower production, and the curfew has made things worse. The flowers in his garden are rotting.

Nazmul Hossain, a flower seller from Gadkhali union in Jhikargacha upazila, said, "I buy and sell flowers worth 10-15 thousand taka every day. But now it is completely closed. My income has stopped completely."

Shahbag is one of the major wholesale and retail flower markets in Dhaka, with about 100 shops.

Md Lokman Hossain, former president of the Shahbagh Bottala Small Flower Traders Cooperative Society, told TBS, "Sales have been completely closed since last Friday. I used to sell flowers worth Tk20,000-Tk25,000 daily. Flowers worth around Tk10,000-15,000 have been destroyed due to a lack of buyers.

"There are 100 shops like mine, and everyone has suffered similar losses. Flower growers will face huge losses. If the flowers are not cut, the garden will be destroyed, and even if they are cut, there is no one to sell them to. All social events and programmes are halted."

Zahir Uddin Babor, organising secretary of the Bangladesh Flower Society and President of its Dhaka Division, told TBS, "Some traders brought flowers at higher prices, but they are not selling. As a result, no more flowers have been brought to Dhaka since Monday.

"The business situation is dire, and traders are struggling to support their families. Every day, flowers worth crores of taka are being wasted in the gardens."