Flower growers still in rush to meet demand from UK
ANTALYA
Flower growers in the southern provinces of Antalya and Isparta are still busy trying to meet soaring demand from the U.K. amid the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Demand from the florists in Britain for cut flowers in Antalya has soared 90 percent and planeloads of carnations have already been sent to the U.K. This activity in the sector is expected to continue until the end of this month.
From Sept. 9 to 16, some 1.3 million flowers were shipped from Türkiye to the U.K., with revenues amounting to 3.5 million Turkish Liras ($191,000).
Initially, some 1.5 million flowers were planned to be delivered to the U.K. But in the face of the strong demand, the deliveries will probably reach a total of 2 million.
Revenues of flower growers from exports to the U.K. in the two southern provinces are expected to eventually hit 5 million liras
Amid demand from Britain, companies in those cities increased the number of their workers by 50 percent and added an extra two hours to the shifts for their staff.
“Exports to the U.K. increased 110 percent between Sept. 9-16 from the same period of last year,” said Selçuk Çelebi from the Antalya Commodity Exchange (ATB).
Companies worked over the weekend and the number of flowers sent to Britain will reach 1.5 million as of Sept. 19, he said.
Çelebi noted that the late Queen Elizabeth’s funeral was held yesterday, saying that “but the activity will continue until the end of the month with flower shipments to the U.K. reaching 2 million.”
Flowers from Isparta are shipped to warehouses in Antalya where workers check their quality and pack them, he explained. “We are busy. We have increased the number of workers at warehouses and out in the fields.”
Cargo planes are delivering the packed flowers to the U.K. from Antalya Airport.
