With Valentine's Day upon us, prices of roses in Thailand are the highest in the world, according to a popular flower and bouquet delivery business.
Photo by Jetjaras Na Ranong
The average price of a dozen roses in other countries is 3,000 baht, but the price in Thailand is about 4,000 baht, Rawat Chindapol, chief executive officer of Miss Lily Flower, said on Wednesday.
"If the roses are imported from the Netherlands, or if they are 'black roses' from foreign countries, a bouquet can cost around 9,000 to 10,000 baht," Mr Rawat said.
The company has increased the price of a single rose from 370 baht to 400 baht, up about 10%, because of higher fuel costs and higher wages.
He said Thai people now have more spending power and were paying 3,800 to 3,900 baht for a bouquet delivered on Valentine's Day, Feb 14. Last year, Thais paid around 3,300 to 3,600 baht for a bouquet.
Long stemmed roses are currently priced at 1,500 baht each, "black roses" at 900 baht each and common roses 400 baht each. Roses from Tak province (normally one baht each) are now 15 to 20 baht each.
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The Economic and Business Forecasting Centre at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) forecast that about 3.21 billion baht will be circulated in the economy on Thursday, Valentine's Day - the highest in five years.
Meanwhile, a survey by Suan Dusit Poll showed that many adults do not see anything special in Valentine's Day while about one out of ten teenagers might be inclined to have sex with their partners that day.
The survey, involving 880 teenagers and 429 grown-ups, was conducted in Bangkok to gather people's opinions on Valentine's Day.
The pollster said 39.29% of the adults considered Valentine's Day as just another day and an influence of Western culture; 52.26% of teenagers said it is a day of love and a special occasion for couples to exchange good feelings with each other.
Also, 28.57% of adults and 12.56% of teenagers felt that Valentine's Day is the time for young people to have sex; 53.36% of teenagers said they would go indulge indulge in recreational activities with their partners, such as giving presents and watching movies; 57.58% of adults said they would not do anything special that day.
Most respondents (78.79% of teenagers and 75% of adults) gave more importance to Makha Bucha Day (a Buddhist religious holiday which falls on Feb 25 this year) than Valentine's Day.