It was stubbornness that led a family farm on Vancouver Island to keep growing roses when competitors left the industry or shifted production to marijuana years ago.

Now, Kristen Bulk says international flower shortages combined with the Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day crunch is creating higher demand for local roses from Eurosa Farms, which bills itself as the only year-round standard cut rose grower in Canada.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 all hands on deck, so to speak. We91裸聊视频檙e definitely moving as quickly as possible to get our product out to everyone,91裸聊视频� said Bulk, who works in accounting for Eurosa in Brentwood Bay, B.C.

Supply chain issues and fluctuations in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic have seen those in the flower business strap in for a roller-coaster ride like so many other industries since 2020. Between bans on weddings and the difficulty getting space on cargo planes before flowers wilt, procuring flowers and calculating demand has been a moving target for retailers and wholesalers.

Vince Van Randen, a cut-flower purchaser for West Coast Floral in Surrey, said British Columbia has been somewhat protected thanks to local growers and a major flower auction site in Burnaby but the province isn91裸聊视频檛 unaffected.

Imported flowers have dramatically increased in price and it91裸聊视频檚 been difficult to secure supply amid limited cargo flights and issues with truckers crossing the border, he said.

Demand has pushed the cost of local flowers up about 30 per cent too, he added.

91裸聊视频淥verall, it91裸聊视频檚 been, I wouldn91裸聊视频檛 say difficult, but it91裸聊视频檚 been different from what we91裸聊视频檝e been used to so far in accessing the flowers to sell,91裸聊视频� he said, adding other trends like people purchasing houseplants early in the pandemic also shifted demand.

The wholesale distribution company, which also has a small retail centre and greenhouses, has pursued a mixed strategy of pre-booking orders and replacing international suppliers with local ones, Van Randen said.

Disasters have added another challenge, with flooded farms on the Sumas Prairie making tulips particularly difficult to come by, he added. Darker, damper fall weather also didn91裸聊视频檛 help.

Roses, which grow better in southern climates, have traditionally been cheaper to import but many California growers switched production to crops like vegetables when confronted with an uncertain future early in the pandemic, he said.

In other parts of the world like Ecuador, Van Randen said, producers lined up at the airport to get flowers on a cargo plane but after waiting five days in one instance, the flowers wilted.

Pre-booking orders with suppliers has become a must in order to ensure the company has flowers for its clients, he said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 changed the way we do things, definitely,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 changed our industry dramatically in the last two years.91裸聊视频�

Vivian Liu, owner and head florist at Arbutus Florist in Vancouver, said while prices are up, she hasn91裸聊视频檛 noticed a flower shortage beyond exotics like ranunculus and anemones. The shop91裸聊视频檚 pre-booking of roses came through this Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day, she said.

The cost of roses almost doubled for Valentine91裸聊视频檚 Day, but she said the shop only raised its prices 25 per cent.

More challenging was Christmas, when flooding and mudslides cut off all major highway links to Metro Vancouver, she said. It meant both flowers and hardware like vases couldn91裸聊视频檛 make it to the shop.

91裸聊视频� Amy Smart, The Canadian Press