Ipoh, Apr 28 (Sin Chew Daily) — Carnations are popular when it comes to Mother's Day, but the current Movement Control Order (MCO) has restrained one from celebrating the occasion, resulting in a sharp decline in demand for fresh flowers. There are plenty of fresh flowers left with no market demand in Cameron Highlands.

Farmers in Cameron Highlands have started planting carnations to cater to the Mother's Day prior to the MCO. They are nevertheless not optimistic about selling their flowers despite the fact Mother's Day is just two weeks away.

Liang Wei Si, committee member of Cameron Highlands Flower Growers Association, told Sin Chew Daily his company had started preparing for the occasion since early this year. Some of the flowers are already supplied to the market early April. The demand for fresh flowers is extremely low this year.

He said demand for flowers this year plunged by 70% to 80% compared to last year, as flowers are non-essential item and people tend to focus more on food and cash flow during MCO.

Apart from carnations, other flowers such as baby's breath and Texas bluebells are also in poor demand. 

"The market for flowers is much slower when compared to fruits or vegetables,'' he said.

Some policemen on duty during MCO might not see flowers as an essential item, and farmers could face problems transporting the flowers, he said.

With the extension of MCO, farmers would have no choice but to discard the unsold flowers. Otherwise, they would have to develop online sales through social media or other platforms to have their flowers delivered to the consumers.

Liang said the country's economy would take some time to recover after the MCO is lifted. He said demand for flowers is related to the economy. When the economy is doing well, consumers tend to buy more flowers. When the economy is down, sales will slide.

Flower wholesaler Xie said carnation production in Cameron Highlands is not high. He used to import carnations from China, but with flights from China now canceled, the supply would be reduced. He believed the supply of fresh flowers would still be short.

As Mother's Day falls within the MCO period, restaurants and florists will not be allowed to operate, and Xie predicted flower sale would be affected too.