Cut flower growers in Yalova, one of the important production areas for floricultural products in Turkey, are working overtime to fulfill all the orders for Mother’s Day.
Speaking to the press, Korukoy Agricultural Development Cooperative Chairman Mustafa Kanar: “Rose production is the main source of income for many families in the area. There are around 400 rose growers in our area. We expect around 300,000 stems of roses to be sold from our growers for this special day. Phalaenopsis is also very much in high-demand for Mother’s Day.”
Grower Omer Salman noted that almost 80 % of their production is roses and that they have been preparing for Mother’s Day for awhile. Omer Salman: “I have around 2 hectares of production area and we expect to sell around 50,000 stem of roses for this special day.
The prices are set by the market according to the demand and the retail price can go up to 1.7 USD per stem on this particular day. We are sending our products to all over Turkey but Istanbul and Antalya remain the main markets.
Currently Yalova growers have the best quality of domestic products available because of ideal weather conditions. We have products available from end of April until January. The production in Antalya, Mersin and Adana is about to come to an end so this is their latest harvest which is more inferior in quality. The growers in these cities usually have production throughout winter and early spring.
We also urge florists to use domestic roses instead of imported ones. Of course import roses are needed to fulfill the market demand in the months when we don’t have any rose production in the country. Especially in winter months domestically grown rose supply cannot fulfill the market demand. However after production starts here during spring, then there is no need anymore for imported roses in the market. Imported roses arrive to Turkey around 10 days after its harvest. Their vase life is quite limited for this reason. Additionally it is almost twice as expensive as local roses. I know that for some particular colors which are not available in Turkey, they prefer imported roses which is also understandable. But I believe that they should use local products when they are available with the color varieties they are seeking .”
Source: Hurriyet