Hyderabad: Flower vendors across the twin cities are struggling this festive season as rates remain low and wastage high. Just days after a steep hike during Ganesh Chaturthi, prices crashed during Bathukamma, leaving sellers disappointed.At Gudimalkapur flower market, the city’s biggest wholesale hub, the usual festive buzz was missing. Flowers sourced from Karnataka’s Chikballapur, Anekal, Hosur, Bengaluru, and even Maharashtra, were stacked in piles but failed to fetch good prices.”This year marigold rates have fallen badly. This market is very unpredictable, and we are at its mercy,” said B Vijaykumar, who has been selling flowers here for 16 years. He pointed out that marigolds, which usually sell at Rs 80 per kg, were going for just Rs 50. “Heavy rainfall led to surplus yield. Flowers are cheaper, but they don’t sell fast enough, and we end up wasting so much. Customers come, but they are mostly individuals, not bulk buyers.”Just behind the market, heaps of unsold flowers worth lakhs lay rotting, a painful sight for vendors who brought them in with high hopes.At Monda Market in Secunderabad, retail sellers charged a little more, but admitted that prices were still far below festive expectations.”Navratri this year is a waste for business. I can’t even make enough to support my family in the city,” said Purushottam Patil, a vendor from Nizamabad who has been in Gudimalkapur for 20 years. His Chamanthi (chrysanthemums), usually priced between Rs 70 and Rs 80 per kg, were being sold at just Rs 30.Others, however, were more optimistic. “Chamanthi can touch Rs 400 per kg during festivals,” said Sudhakar N, who has been selling here for the past decade. “Right now, I’m selling them at Rs 80 to Rs 100, and roses at Rs 150 per kg. We hope prices will pick up by Dasara.”
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