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After 30% of the metropolitan production of marigolds, mainly the plantation of Xochimilco was lost due to the devastating excess of rain, this year the cost of the flower of the dead will increase 25%, projected the National Alliance of Small Merchants (Anpec).
Cuauhtémoc Rivera Rodríguezleader of the country’s established merchants, pointed out that a bouquet of four flowers is on average between 30 to 35 pesos, while last year it cost 20 to 25 pesos.
He explained that other larger bouquets of six flowers, which is how they are being sold, this year cost 40 pesos with about six flowers, so considering that Mexican families buy between four or five bouquets this year only in marigolds for the altars and offerings the expense will be 150 pesos.
Xóchitl, a producer and seller of the called flower of deaths in Toluca, He commented that due to the impact of the flower by the rains, they are suffering from the excessive introduction of Chinese plants that are cheaper.
“While we are selling five or six pots for 100 pesos, and the bunch costs about 100 pesos, while other years it costs up to 200 or 300 pesos”.
The producer accused that while a national yacht is at 100 pesos, the Chinese are sold between 50 o 60, “That is hitting us in the tower.”
Doña Xóchitl, who has dedicated several years to selling marigolds, said that it is getting worse and worse for the traders.
He Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA) highlighted that Mexico is the main producer of the marigold flower in the world. He specified that during 2023, more than 4 thousand hectares were planted throughout the country, being the main producers Puebla, Hidalgo, Guerrero, Tlaxcala and the State of Mexico.
The flower is grown between June and September so that they are ready in October and early November when demand becomes high in the country.
“Production reaches up to 35 thousand tons per year, which satisfies both national consumption and a small export and although there are several species, the busiest here is the tagetes erecta, which has an intense yellow or orange color,” he explained. Juan Carlos Anayapresident of the GCMA.
In Toluca, Xóchilt He accused that the new mayor’s office prevented merchants from going out to sell in a pilgrimage outside the central market as happens throughout the country and as has been the case in the entity in recent years, this situation will make sales more difficult for florists, he told this diary.
The Ministry of Agriculture projected that this year a production that exceeds the 2 million 368 thousand flower plants died as recorded last year.
In official figures, in 2023 More than 21 thousand tons of marigolds were produced, which translated into about 518 thousand bunches of the orange flower, added the It fits consulted by this newspaper.
The cempasúchil, also known as flower of the dead or cempoalxóchitl, It is an icon of Mexican culture, especially during the celebrations of the Day of the Dead. Its intense orange color and unmistakable aroma are symbols of this tradition that honors loved ones who, according to belief, return each year.