It is the muhurtham season once again. However, along with the joy of couples tying the knot come a sharp spike in the prices of flowers.
There can be weddings without pomp and show, but even the simplest temple and registrar weddings cannot do without the traditional garlands for the bride and groom.
At the Koyambedu wholesale flower market, the heady jasmine, which is in favour during this season, costs a whopping Rs 200 per kilo, while samanthi is priced at Rs 100 per kg.
The hike in prices has not reduced the demand for flowers, which are still selling like hotcakes because of the wedding season.
“This season, we are noticing very good sale of jasmine, though other flowers are not much in demand.
Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are the major suppliers of all jasmine varieties, both to the international as well as Indian markets.
There is also a huge demand within these states itself,” said flower dealer D. Arul Viswam, pointing out that jasmine is a flower that blooms in summer.
However, the sharp rise in the prices of flowers is not matched by a similar increase in the prices of wedding-night fruit bowls.
These bowls are no longer in vogue and this has led to a drastic drop in the sales of fruit this season, forcing fruit merchants to slash prices.
The mango, the king of all summer fruits, has taken a beating this year. “Our business has touched rockbottom this year. Sales have come down drastically.
Last year, sales had gone up to 200- 300 tonnes per day but this year it has dwindled to 100 tonnes per day,” said S. Srinivasan, a fruit dealer at Koyambedu market.
Consumers are now elated with the drop in prices of fruits. Many supermarkets are also holding ‘mango melas’, selling the fruit dirt-cheap.
Yet, fruit sellers at Koyambedu lament that the demand for fruit has not gone up. The drastic fall in prices has led to heavy losses for the fruit sellers at Koyambedu market this time.