Flowers destroyed in Russia as virus hits demand

Some 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of Moscow, the Rosehill rose farm used to produce around 25 million flowers per year in its greenhouses, most of which went to the Russian capital.

But since the closure of non-essential businesses last month in Moscow to stave the spread of the coronavirus and strict stay-at-home orders, demand for flowers has virtually disappeared overnight.

Production at Rosehill is now down to around 10-15 per cent of full capacity, its financial director Svetlana Levina told the Associated Press, bringing tens of millions of rubles in losses for the firm - the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Because of the drastic fall in demand in the market for flowers, there is no demand at all for our products," she said.

Since the lockdown, workers at the firm have been forced to dispose of the roses that grow to keep the plants alive, crushing them in a machine and wheeling them out in waste bins outside the facility.

"Every day when you come to work, you have tears in your eyes when you have to break these flowers and destroy what you've put your work into, and just throw what you've created into the trash," said Oksana Olchennikova, the chief gardener at the Rosehill rose farm.

Overall, experts estimate that Russian producers are forced to destroy millions of flowers every day, and many firms fear they may not survive the economic downturn brought by the coronavirus pandemic.

Russia currently has 13,584 confirmed cases and 106 reported deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally at 0700 GMT.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

The vast majority of people recover.

(Representative Image)(Image Credit Pixabay)