Arakan flower growers face losses amid tough market and weather conditions

By DMG 07 Dec 2022

DMG Newsroom
7 December 2022, Sittwe

Seasonal flower growers in Arakan State are operating at a loss this year because of adverse weather patterns.

Flower farming has been negatively affected by rain that has continued into the cold season, as well as hot weather. Demand is also in decline, while at the same time growers have faced rising production costs due to significant increases in the prices of fertiliser and pesticides.

“Our flowers are not selling now. The demand has declined,” said flower grower U Ko Naing Oo from Sittwe.

Demand has declined in part as the quality of flowers has been negatively impacted by the weather in recent months. Meanwhile, growers could not distribute to many towns because of travel restrictions.

“The leaves of flower plants withered due to extremely hot weather. As the soil is too dry, plants did not grow well. What’s worse, it rained, further affecting the quality of flowers,” said flower grower U Maung Aye Thein from Sittwe.

Local flower growers in Arakan State say they lack technology and flower cultivation is primarily a manual process, leaving their flowers struggling to compete with flowers from Yangon and other cities in terms of quality.

Flowers from outside Arakan State are therefore more popular than locally grown flowers in the market, said a flower seller at Sittwe’s central market.

“There are few flower growers here, and their flowers are not as beautiful as those that come from other parts of the country. Flower growers in Arakan State are not as skilled as their counterparts from elsewhere. So, their flowers are not that beautiful. Buyers only buy beautiful flowers,” said flower seller Daw Ma Mya Win.

However, distributing flowers from outside Arakan State also has its risks due to unexpected delays along the road. Transportation costs are also high, said flower sellers.