Despite the increase in flower prices ahead of Valentine’s Day, the Municipal Agricultural and Fishery Council (MAFC) in La Trinidad and Benguet has assured the public of an ample supply of cut flowers for the season.
MAFC Andy Colte said on Monday, Feb. 12, that more trucks have been delivering cut flowers every morning to vendors and arrangers in Dimasalang, or Dangwa, in Manila.
Expecting the heavy demand during the special occasion, Colte told Manila Bulletin that “Around seven to 10 or more 16-wheeler trucks will be sent out [from our region] to Metro Manila.”
Since there has been no recent weather inconvenience that could affect the cut flower industry, farmers in Benguet and La Trinidad can still supply their products beyond Luzon.
“There’s no storm or rainfall yet, not even wilted flowers, so there’s still a large supply [to be delivered] even outside of Metro Manila. This includes Palawan or Mindanao through roll-on, roll-off cargo ships [ROROs].”
In addition, the MAFC expects prices to double this week due to a higher demand for fresh floral arrangements in the market.
“Flower prices increasing during Valentine’s, Mother’s Day, or All Soul’s Day is normal,” he said. “Roses will be the one heavily affected by the hike, while other flowers will also increase a little.”
The latest price range for three pieces of red roses in Dangwa is sold at P400, while a dozen is at P1,000.
To further debunk the scarcity myth during special occasions, the MAFC chairman explained that as demand grows for flowers, additional operational costs also rise due to more truck deliveries.
“Usually the industry provides six to seven trucks of flowers every early morning to Dimasalang, but since it’s almost Valentine’s, it will be up to 10 trucks [which is already a lot].”
Aside from just delivering flowers to the Metro and other areas of the Philippines like Bicol, he added that the cut flower industry has been sharing their cargo space with vegetables to make sure that both agricultural products are carried out to markets on time.
Meanwhile, the flower growers seek government aid to further support the cut flower industry and hope that the Department of Agriculture [DA] would allocate more budget the same way they have provided for the rice, corn, and vegetable sectors.