Flower prices soared in the flower markets in the city on the eve of Ayudha pooja on Saturday.
It was a good day of business for flower vendors at the Srirangam market as they made good sales after complaining for weeks about lack of sales. ‘We earned more this year than we did last year. Because of limited arrivals of flowers, vendors sold them at a higher price. There was good demand,’ said V. Raju, president, Srirangam Flower Vendors Association.
‘Samandhi’ was sold at ₹ 150 - 200 a kg while jasmine was sold at ₹ 300. ‘Sampangi; was sold at ₹ 260 to 300 while ‘virichi poo’ was sold at ₹ 200 to 250. ‘While most of the flowers come from areas around Tiruchi, ‘samandhi’ comes from Krishnagiri and Hosur,” he said.
Meanwhile, vendors selling puffed rice, peanuts and beaten rice rued that there was drop in sales by about 50%. ‘Demand for pori is very high at this time of the year but with many companies still offering work-from-home and others struggling to recover from the financial loss due to COVID-19, we have not received many orders,’ said Veerasamy, a vendor in Gandhi Market.
Production of puffed rice too, has dropped, another vendor said. ‘The coronavirus has hit all businesses. With not enough hands to make the rice, many units have closed,’ he said.
