After a gap of four months, jasmine is commanding a good price in the recent days.
A kg of jasmine was sold between ₹800 to ₹1,000 on Saturday, instead of a paltry ₹200 all through the COVID-19 lockdown period, said S. Ramachandran, president of a flower merchant association.
The president of Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry N. Jegadeesan, who is also a jasmine exporter, said the price rise could be attributed to consecutive festival days - Varalakshmi Nonbu, Bakrid and Aadi Perukku. “There was a good demand for jasmine from Coimbatore for Bakrid. The demand is usually higher in the Cauvery belt for Aadi Perukku. But, due to lockdown, transportation of jasmine to other districts has become challenging,” he said.
T. Chandrapandi, a jasmine farmer from Kalluthu village in Usilampatti block, said the fall in yield only contributed to the price rise. “Because of difficulty in selling jasmine during lockdown, many farmers did not take good care of their crop. As a result, the yield was very poor,” he said.
K. Sasikumar, another farmer, said he could get an yield of only 1.5 kg of jasmine from his two-acre land. “Though the rise in price was good, the fall in yield is a matter of concern,” he said.
Mr. Ramachandran said that temporary flower markets were functioning on Race Course Road and Arapalayam till a month back. But they were closed down due to the complete lockdown. “Now, farmers are selling flowers in different places across the district,” he said.
A Horticulture department official said that permission had been sought to reopen the flower market in Mattuthavani with safety precautions. “It should reopen within a week,” he said.