Bouquet & Wreath prices skyrocket due to lack of fertiliser

COLOMBO (News 1st); Whether it be weddings or funerals flowers form an essential part of people's lives anywhere in the world. However, Bouquets and Wreaths are now being sold at record prices, as suppliers struggle with a lack of fertiliser in Sri Lanka. The News 1st team visited Deans Road, Colombo 10, the hotspot of florists in Sri Lanka to find out more about the current situation. The sale of ornamental and decorative flowers seems to die off. The most sought-after flower, the rose is now sold at Rs. 200, earlier it was Rs. 80 and we are even short of flowers to make bouquets, a vendor said. Another shop owner told us that a wreath that used to cost Rs. 2,500 is now Rs. 4,000 and back in the day they used to get close to 500 flowers but now it has dropped to 50. Meanwhile, farmers in Nuwara Eliya say, the lack of fertiliser is the main reason for the current shortage of flowers. Farmers in Keppetipola dubbed the flower village of Sri Lanka, Welimada and Uva-Paranagama are in dire straits as all their flower harvest is now gone to waste because the flowers do not match up to standards. Farmers said they are compelled to cut off and throw away hundreds of rotten flowers every day. It is their hard work, their money, and their time being destroyed right in front of their eyes. Without fertiliser, the flowers fade away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KbbSvNBtKA