BENGUET’S flower supply for the coming “Undas” or All Souls Day is steady despite the province being hit by monsoon rains and typhoons, including the recent Typhoon Neneng, assured Department of Agriculture Cordillera (DA-CAR) Regional Director Cameron Odsey.
At least 164,667 dozens of roses grown in gardens in Benguet have been harvested and stored in time for Undas and the Christmas holidays, Odsey said.
Over the past nine months, Cordillera growers have produced and traded some 2.1 million dozens of cut flowers, according to Odsey.
A total of 120 million dozens of chrysanthemums have been harvested in the region since January.
DA records show that at least 112,023 dozens of anthuriums have been stored in the same month, raising their number this year to 1,025,662 dozens. The total number of anthurium harvests since January has reached 1.025 million dozens.
Benguet is a primary source of cut flowers, with gardens in the province producing a wide variety of flowers such as gladiola, white calla lily, statice, baby’s breath, carnations, aster and alstroemeria, snapdragons, gerbera, agapanthus, “mel flores,” lisianthus and sunflowers.
However, small flower traders were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many traders have zero sales during the course of COVID-19 lockdowns in the country. Traders in the CAR are hoping that the coming Undas will drive flower sales and allow them to recover financially.
