As many as 160,000 units of rose stems worth Rs 15 million [133,000 USD] are to be imported for Valentine’s Day and these are going to cost more this year, the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN) said.
The association stated that the cost of roses is going to be higher this year compared to last year as the demand for roses has risen.
FAN stated that the volume of imported roses this year is due to the surge in demand. It said that out of the 200,000 rose stems that are sold on Valentine’s Day, 160,000 rose stems were being imported from India.
Nepal imported roses worth Rs 12.5 million [110,750 USD] last year.
Floriculture businesses and nurseries in Nepal have been growing with the growing demand for flowers. There are around 675 floriculture nurseries in 41 districts including especially Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur, Kaski, Chitwan, Makwanpur, Kavrepalanchowk, Gulmi, Palpa, Dhading and Morang among other districts.