With the cost of fresh roses nearly doubling from last year due to extreme weather impacting production, preserved roses offer an affordable alternative that also lasts longer, florist Liu Tze-te (劉子德) said yesterday.
Roses are in high demand this month with Valentine’s Day approaching.
However, the cost of both domestic and imported roses has almost doubled compared with last year, as heavy rain and cold weather have affected production, Liu said.
Photo: Liu Wan-chun, Taipei Times
A bouquet of 20 roses costs NT$800 to NT$1,200 at the Tainan Flower Market this year, and a single rose costs NT$300 to NT$350, he said.
The price for a bouquet of imported roses has been NT$800 to NT$900 for many years, but this year it costs NT$1,800 to NT$2,000, he said.
Pink, white, red and purple roses are most popular for Valentine’s Day, Liu said.
A bouquet of pink and white roses, known as bridal colors, costs NT$1,200 to NT$1,500, he said.
The price of preserved flowers is comparatively stable, Liu said.
A standard Valentine’s bouquet of fresh flowers costs from NT$1,500 to NT$2,000, and a Valentine’s bouquet of preserved flowers costs about NT$1,000, he said.
While fresh flowers wilt after about five days, preserved flowers last from five months to a year, he said.
Liu studied floristry for 20 years and worked in the public sector for eight before opening a flower shop in Tainan’s Yongkang District (永康) five months ago.
Although roses are more expensive this year, the number of people buying roses for Valentine’s Day has not decreased, he said.
Instead, they buy smaller bouquets, he added.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS