Coronavirus nips Gaza’s flower market in the bud

With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of workers have lost their jobs as farmers have suffered thousands in losses

by Mohammed Asad

The coronavirus has demolished the ability of Gaza’s flower farmers selling their produce abroad [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

The coronavirus has demolished the ability of Gaza’s flower farmers selling their produce abroad.

Farmers begin planting their orchids in June, spending $32,000 to tend to one acre of land, they start each new year picking the flowers, a process that continues until May.

This year however, with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of workers have lost their jobs as farmers have suffered thousands in losses.

The Gaza Strip was known for its large rose exports to Europe, where the cost of a rose reaches $6, while locally it is sold for only $2.

Over 100 varieties of flowers are grown in the Gaza Strip, but Palestinian farmers in Gaza prefer to plant carnations, as they can withstand weather conditions.

READ: Palestinian compares virus lockdown to Israel’s occupation

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.