It has been a good Mother's Day for the Turkish floriculture industry. The demand was high at the flower auction. Additionally, the export of cut flowers from Antalya to Europe increased by almost 100% compared to last year.
High demand at auction
According to the newspaper Sozcu, florists, who made preparations for Mother's Day to be celebrated on the weekend, went to the hall where the auction would take place early in the morning. Florists from neighboring provinces also attended the auction. While the flowers were displayed on the moving conveyor, sales were made by the auction method. Participants in the auction competed with each other to buy the flowers. The warehouse manager Burak Uzun told Sozcu that because of the high demand for flowers on special days, there is a high demand for flowers in the auction.
Burak Yilmaz said to Sozcu: “On normal days, we sell 60 to 100 boxes of flowers a day at our Yalova auction hall. However, due to Mother's Day, we sold 200 to 250 boxes of flowers a day this week. Today, we sold approximately 60 thousand stems of flowers. Red roses, colorful roses, lilies, and gerberas are the variety of flowers that are mostly preferred on Mother's Day. Our customers from Istanbul, Kocaeli, Izmit, and Sakarya can buy their flowers and sell them in their own florist shops."
Exports to Europe increased by almost 100%
Additionally, Kamu 3 reports that 65 million cut flowers, worth 7 million USD, from Antalya were sent to Europe before Mother's Day. In the sector, where exports increased by almost 100% compared to last year, the growers from Antalya have a hard time in keeping up with the demand of Europe.
Ismail Yilmaz, Chairman of the Central Anatolian Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters, told Kamu 3: "There were not enough cut flowers to go to Europe this year as there are not enough flights from overseas this year. European importers are now purchasing flowers from Turkey to fulfill the demand in their markets. There has been an increased interest in cut flowers in our country for the last 11 months and we are having difficulties in keeping up with the increased demand. Not enough flowers come to Europe from countries such as Colombia, Kenya, Ecuador. We have a 100% increase in flower sales to Europe compared to last year. This figure is extremely delightful for our industry. This process is not over yet. We have sent 60-65 million cut flowers to Europe on Mother's Day. This is more than twice the figure of last year. The monetary value will reach 6-7 million dollars. The ornamental plants and cut flowers industry in Turkey has turned the pandemic into an advantage in exports."
To read the original articles, go to www.sozcu.com.tr and www.kamu3.com.
