Rose sales, prices blossom for Chinese Valentine's Day

Sales of roses soared and prices surged this week as couples prepared to celebrate Qixi Festival, also known as Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on Wednesday this year.

The average auction price of roses increased to 1.24 yuan ($0.18) per flower on Aug 3 from 0.66 yuan per flower on Aug 1. The price of the Carola, a top-level red rose, climbed significantly from 1.97 yuan to 3.23 yuan, data from Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center showed.

The daily supply of the Dounan Flower Market, the country's largest flower market, exceeded 10 million last weekend, an increase of 10 percent compared with the same period in previous years, which also set a new record high. And the average auction price of roses surpassed 1 yuan, according to the person in charge from Dounan Plants and Flowers Electronic Trade Center.

Qixi Festival, the Chinese version of Valentine's Day, takes place on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month on the lunar calendar. The holiday has greatly boosted sales as well as the price of roses.

Two days before Qixi Festival, the Dounan Flower Market received a huge amount of customers. Many flower shops were busy packaging bouquets and gift boxes.

"The prices of roses increased significantly. A flower which sells for 2 yuan normally now costs 3 yuan. And our gift boxes of 52 flowers are priced at 90 yuan, an increase of more than 30 percent over the previous price," said a shop owner.

"The number of orders has also increased a lot in recent days, reaching 30 orders a day from only one or two orders before," the owner added.

Among the choices of flowers to celebrate the romantic day, roses remain the best-sellers, and the Carola is very popular, accounting for 65 percent of the red rose supply. On Aug 3, the price of the Carola increased two times to 3 yuan due to the lack of other high-quality flowers.

The price of roses showed a polarization trend. High-quality flowers sold well with a good price, while the sales of poor-quality ones remained sluggish though the price was low.

Sales of import flowers fell compared with previous years. Import companies reduced their importation by 40 to 50 percent. The production from the Southern Hemisphere was low due to the winter season there. Many dealers chose domestic flowers instead because of their improved quality plus a lower price.

"Daily shipments bound for cities outside Yunnan province amounted to more than 10,000 bundles during July 31 and Aug 3. And the price dropped as the shipments decreased from Aug 4," said Zhang Liang, the president of Zhangliang Plants and Flowers of Professional Cooperative in Jinning county of Yunnan.

The fast development of a comprehensive logistics system comprised of air freight and land transportation gave a great support to the sales of flowers.

"Airports near Kunming and more arterial roads increased our traffic volume. Transportation plans and emergency plans were prepared to ensure the supply of flowers," said Shen Zetao, the deputy manager of Kunming Flying Swallow Logistics Ltd.

Liu Jianing in Beijing contributed to this story.