Amid price volatility, Madurai flower sellers pin hopes on Onam

MADURAI: Though there is a sudden steep fall in the prices of flowers after the sale for ‘Varalakshmi Nonbu,’ vendors in Madurai pin their hopes on Onam, which is just days away.

Several sellers at the Mattuthavani wholesale flower market, who did a brisk business until Thursday, said there were only a few consumers on Friday, unlike other days of the week.

They say the price of sampangi, thamarai, thalampoo, and manjal sevanthi, much sought after flowers for Varalakshmi Nonbu, declined by 20 pc to 30 pc in just a day. Even malli, which sold at Rs 1,000 per kg until Thursday, crashed to Rs 600 on Friday.

The market might pick up only during the next muhurtham season this month, said G. Tamilarasan, a wholesale vendor at Mattuthavani market.

Meanwhile, another vendor N. Lakshmanan, who travelled all the way from Nilakottai, Dindigul district, to sell flowers at Mattuthavani, said there’s unprecedented rise in price of ‘thazham poo’ as it’s sold at Rs 200 until Thursday night. He added that the price of flowers will again climb before Onam.

S Barathi, another vendor at the market, said the flower price will go up by 10 per cent for Onam, as many traders will choose to procure flowers from Thovalai market in Kanyakumari district. Thiruvonam, the last day of the 10-day harvest festival is on August 29.

According to ‘Poo kadai Chandran’ alias Ramachandran, a vendor from Nilakottai wholesale flower market, brisk sale is expected in Nilakottai market as farmers from various districts would bring their produce there. But, he said, only one tonne of different flowers will land in Nilakottai market daily against the daily average of 25 tonnes.