Flower Power

 

A confession first: I am crazy about flowers. 

I buy flowers when I'm sad, I buy flowers when I'm happy, I buy flowers when it's Monday and when it's not Tuesday.

During years, a remarkable amount of our disposable income has gone to seeds, plants, bouquets, roses, tulips, daffodils.

Thus, it's not a surprise that very soon after our arrival in Dhaka last August I found my flower man.

He usually sells me ten roses for 600 taka, round seven euros. He always adds a couple of "complimentary roses only for Madam" and smiles a lot. 

Now I know why.

This weekend we visited Shadullapur's area, about an hour's drive from Dhaka, to see rose farms. I was told that they cultivate a lot of roses there.

A lot was actually an insult. 

We saw millions and millions of roses. Small fields, bigger fields and very large fields. 

Every night farmers cut flowers and transport them to wholesale markets where they are further sold to retailers and finally to me, for example. 

By my flower guy.

Acoording to the rose farmer we met, the flower business has become much more profitable than vegetable business. 

The "rose index" is a clear sign that the Bangladeshi middle class is growing and people can afford to buy flowers for celebrations and parties. 

The farmer told - through our driver as an interpreter - that the winter time was very lucrative. The flowers were in perfect shape, the demand high because of the wedding season and Valentine's day, and the prices were high.

The warm weather has now had an effect on the posture of the roses. They are less crispy and cheaper.

I bought a large bunch of about hundred roses. The farmer asked for 400 taka, we paid 500 (about six euros). Everybody was smiling.