Flower trading in the city has gained momentum despite shifting of the wholesale flower market to Khamarbari from Shahbag because of extortion and security measures.

"Most of the listed flower wholesalers shifted their business on December 3, 2009 after they had faced extreme extortion and severe security problems recently. But all of the retail buyers do not yet know about the new spot of wholesale flower market," said Bangladesh Flower Society president Abdur Rahim.

"The wholesale trading of flower at Krishibid Institution Chottor of Khamarbari takes place from 3:30 am to 12 noon. Flowers worth around Tk 1.5 to 2.0 million are being sold here per day, while the total flower sale across the country amounts to Tk 3.0 to 4.0 million."

He said, "We have taken lease of the Krishibid Institution Chottor for Tk 100,000 per month from the concerned authority, and now we are free from extortion and security problems."

"Before shifting of the wholesale flower market the businessmen had to pay toll in three or four steps, which was unbearable. But the place of Shahabag wholesale flower market was a government place, so we did not have to pay any rent," he said.

Another leading wholesale flower trader said, "The flower market of Bangladesh is worth about Tk 2.0 billion per year, and it has huge potentiality."

"We sell wholesale flowers around the year, but the main selling season continues from October to March, as it is the main time of weddings and extravagant parties."

"During the month of February our nation experiences a floral fiesta. From the romantic Pohela Falgun and Valentines Day to solemn Ekushey, flowers are a must."

"Suppliers bring truckloads of flowers to Dhaka from Jessore, Savar and other places every morning through bus. We also export some flowers to the Middle east."

Day by day our flower business is flourishing. But we have a lack of experts, and the government's assistance is needed to boost up the sector, he added. 

Every year, mSpace Starany new varieties of Tulip are introduced into the markeFlaming Flagt. In the first season, these varieties are supplied in small numbers and are auctioned at FloraHolland as 'exclusive' varieties. FleurPrimeur are the varieties that have only very recently been launched into the market. The varieties are available for at least 6 consecutive weeks and differ from the existing assortment. Starting in 2009, all FleurPrimeur Tulips at every FloraHolland location will be tested for quality and sensitivity to transport at FloraHolland's Product Knowledge Centre. This means that the FleurPrimeur label not only stands for innovation, but also for quality. Tulips are evryone's favourite when in season & here at Triangle Nursery we stock them in vast numbers on a daily basis.

The flower sellers in Petionville traveled by bus Thursday to Santo Domingo to purchase wholesale flowers for the first time since the earthquake.

"We have specific, regular clients who encouraged us to get back to business," said Marcellus Jean-Pierre, 33. "But a lot of clients we've been trying to call, we don't know if they are dead or alive. I have no idea when business will return, but God gave us the strength to get out here, so here we are."



Comic David Walliams filled his whole house with flowers to woo his new fiancee Lara Stone, her dad has revealed.

The 38-year-old recently proposed to model Stone, 25, and her dad revealed how the Little Britain star was besotted with her for a long time.

Michael Stone, 72, said to UK newspaper Daily Mail: 'Lara and David first met in March when they both went to see Chelsea play. I know that then, the last thing she wanted was a boyfriend.

'But he was so persistent. Lara didn't know who he was, but he was calling her all the time and sending flowers - so many flowers.

'He once filled his whole house with flowers as a surprise for her, and then, as a present, he gave her an A-Z guide of London with her initials printed on the front.

GAZA CITY — This time last year Adham Hijazi was feeding his world-class carnations to animals, but now he hopes they will reach European markets thanks to an easing of Israeli closures on the Gaza Strip.

For the first time since the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in the territory in June 2007, Gaza's flower and strawberry farmers may be able to export most of their produce to Europe with help from The Netherlands.

"There are promises that the crossings will remain open for exports," the 33-year-old farmer says as workers clip carnations and pack them into crates in a sprawling greenhouse near the southern Gaza town of Rafah.

"Last year our losses were huge. I alone lost 800,000 dollars (550,000 euros)," he says. "We harvested the flowers and then we fed them to the sheep and cows."

Israel allowed only limited exports of flowers and strawberries -- Gaza's main cash crops -- during the season following the bloody Hamas takeover in June 2007 before halting all exports in January 2008, according to the Palestine Trade Centre (Paltrade), which works with the World Bank.

Exports only resumed after Israel's devastating 22-day war on Hamas in December 2008 and January 2009, when 14 truckloads of carnations were allowed out of Gaza, according to Paltrade.

"The difficulty was that the peak of the season was far gone, and another issue was that many farmers had stopped by then," said a Dutch official involved in the export projects, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This season, Israel began allowing exports in December, and since then more than a million flowers, mostly roses and carnations, have been exported to The Netherlands, where many are then sent on to markets in Russia and Europe.

"So far it has been working well... There is a regular export taking place," the official says, adding that roughly three shipments of 150,000 flowers were passing through the crossings each week.

Farmers near Rafah have planted some 30 hectares (75 acres) of flowers with assistance from The Netherlands, according to Said al-Rai, the Palestinian coordinator of the project.

"The produce is distinguished by its high quality and deep-rooted reputation in European markets," he says, adding that they expect to export 35 million flowers this season, mainly roses and carnations.

Gaza's strawberry growers have also resumed exports after nearly two years, under a similar programme with Agrexco, an Israeli firm that has marketed and distributed Gaza produce to Europe since the 1980s under its "Coral" brand.

However, Israel only began allowing exports at the start of January, causing the growers to miss out on the first two months of the four-month peak season.

Since then around 40 tonnes of strawberries have been exported, according to the Dutch official.

The lush fields around the village of Beit Lahiya near the border with Israel boast some of the best strawberries in the region, but they were damaged when tanks and bulldozers rumbled through the area during the war.

"We struggled and we farmed in order to export in the period between November 15 and December 25, but Israel did not open the crossings in this period despite the efforts by The Netherlands," says Assad Othman Yassin, the head of marketing in the Hamas-run agricultural ministry.

"On January 3 we exported 21 tonnes, but in the past we always began exporting in the middle of October and continued until March. In a normal season we would export 1,800 tonnes, or about 70 tonnes a day," he adds.

This year farmers around Beit Lahiya have planted 50 hectares (124 acres), compared with 85 hectares (210 acres) in previous years, according to the local farming cooperative.

The farmers have also complained about delays at Israel's Kerem Shalom crossing, where boxes of produce can sit in the desert sun for hours at a time.

"Relatively speaking, it's been a good season so far," the Dutch official says, but he admits that Kerem Shalom is "not an ideal crossing."

Each month Israel allows hundreds of truckloads of basic goods into the territory of 1.5 million people, but apart from the strawberries and flowers it has allowed virtually no exports since Hamas took power.

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