MIAMI, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. florists say they have been paying more for roses wholesale as Valentine's Day approaches.
At Star Florist in Kendall, Fla., Enaya and Mason Lewis say they are not passing the higher price along to their customers, The Miami Herald reports. Instead, it is cutting into their profits from a holiday that is to florists what Christmas is to department stores.
"The economy is bad and people are not spending like they used to," said Enaya Lewis. "People are shopping around a lot more. They keep coming in here, they look at the flowers and the prices and keep saying, 'We'll be back, we'll be back' ."
Florists say about 40 percent of their annual profits come from Valentine's Day with long-stemmed red roses the big seller. About 65 percent of roses in the United States come from Colombia.
A combination of flooding in Colombia, higher shipping costs and a weaker dollar have sent wholesale prices up 5 to 25 percent, florists said. In the Miami area, a dozen long-stemmed roses are retailing from under $20 at supermarkets to $100 or more at upscale florists.
