Flowers get affected by inflation a lot

Someone asked me why flowers are getting affected by inflation and based on what I already know about them I had to tell him that flowers will be hit harder with inflation than some other things because of how fragile they are.

As soon as the farmer buys their new seeds which are higher prices now, they then have to buy all their new fertilisers, now at different prices than previously. You also have to consider that the labour cost goes up, since people also need to eat and the price of bread is rising along with the cost of producing flowers, so wages have to increase.

Another issue with the flowers is fuel. The trucks that transport flowers from the farm to the market have to be filled with something other than hopes. When you are talking about roses in particular, you can’t put them away for two weeks hoping for better prices. They will eventually wilt. They start browning on the edges, it's just a matter of time.

During the big holidays where love is the center theme like for example Valentine's Day which is just around the corner or Mother's Day, the flowers gets more in demand. Everyone wants some roses as gift and gesture of love to their spouses and dates all at the same time. That obviously creates a massive demand, but the costs of production are also increasing, and the farmer is left in a very tight position between both demands. If there are any delays in transporting the flowers, even as little as one day, which could be due to a shortage of fuel or bad roads, the stock is basically lost.

Imports are not making the situation any better too. The imported products, including seeds and equipment are all at a much greater cost to the farmer. All the inputs to produce quality flowers are increasing in price, while the product itself is still soft and fragile.