Turkish Floristry Market readies itself with 2 million Orchids this Valentine's Day

article and image courtesy Daily Sabah

Turkey's cut flower producers are geared up for Valentine's Day with 2 million orchids ready for sale. Orchids are the most commonly preferred potted plant for Feb. 14 and this year's number is a slight increase compared to previous years.

The total production of cut flowers and ornamental plants increased 0.4% in 2019, totaling 1.7 billion pieces, according to an Anadolu Agency (AA) report that included data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).

According to the data, cut flowers constituted some 63.6% of total production last year, increasing by 3.6% and reaching 1.09 billion pieces. Ornamental plant production, on the other hand, has dropped by 4.8% compared to the previous year and decreased to 624.7 million pieces.

Among those, 1.9 million orchids were produced for Valentine's Day alone, with this year's numbers expected to be around 2 million. The number of orchids sold annually in the country is approximately 6 million pieces.

Ahmet Korhan Çiçek, chairman of GardenKoala, Turkey's largest orchid grower company, told AA that productions had already started for Feb. 14, which sees a high demand for the blossoms each ye