Prices of Lunar New Year flowers and fruit up on last year
Retailers blame a strong yuan, cold weather and growing costs for higher price of tangerines, peach blossoms and orchids
Prices of some festive flowers and fruit for the Lunar New Year have risen by as much as 20 per cent from last year, due to the growing value of the yuan and increasing cultivation costs.
Yau Yuk-sang, who has run a garden in Tai Po for more than 10 years, said his tangerines and peach blossoms will increase in price by a fifth due to costlier transportation, fertilizers and pesticides.
"A pot of tangerines with a price tag of HK$388 last year is HK$500 this year," he said.
The cost of transport from the mainland to Hong Kong has increased from HK$3,800 to HK$5,000, while a bottle of pesticide now costs HK$110, up from HK$70 last year.
Favourable weather conditions have led to a bumper crop, and Yau expected robust business despite the higher prices.
"I feel that the economy is better this year and people are willing to spend," he said. "Big companies are also willing to buy Lunar New Year flowers."
Besides mainland imports, some locally grown flowers are 10 per cent more expensive this year. Wages, rents and raw materials all went up last year, said Li Wing-keung, who grows peach blossoms and Chinese herbaceous peony in Tai Po.
