There is no other flower with such a short marketing season.
On May 1, everyone can sell lily of the valley in the street.
But this year, the strand is not spared from inflation.
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Inflation: prices are soaring
The sprigs of lily of the valley are of rare beauty this year. According to Jean-François Cervantes, wholesaler in Nantes, the 2024 vintage is of very good quality. “The bells are beautiful, very white, so that’s a good product”, he says. But the price of these beautiful bells will be a little higher. “There is a slight increase in the cost of living, as in all products. It is around 5%”he specifies in the TF1 report at the top of this article.
50,000 euros more labor
Éric Harrouet, producer in Nantes
Is this increase felt at the florist? Pascal Mutel, manager of a store in Paris, paid his supplier more, but he decided not to change his prices, i.e. 2.50 euros per strand. To do this, he had to cut back on his margin. “I am maintaining my prices this sales year, but I would have had to sell it 50 cents more this year than last year”, he assures. He will undoubtedly be one of the few, on May 1, not to touch his prices.
Lily of the valley for more than three euros, could that dissuade you from taking it? Not sure. “I will continue to buy them because these little touches are important”confides a young woman. “It’s not cheap, but this one will be very beautiful. So you have to pay for quality too”, adds a retiree. But why does lily of the valley cost more? To find out, head to Nantes, to producer Éric Harrouet. In one year, its costs increased by 5%, starting with labor.
The reason is the very mild temperatures in April. As a result, the thrush grew faster than expected, and he had to urgently bring in temporary workers paid at high prices. “It cost us 19 euros per hour, so compared to the students we usually take, that’s 50,000 euros more labor”, he emphasizes. Furthermore, some producers did not find labor in time and lost part of their harvest. And less thrush, prices are soaring.
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Strong temperature variations are likely to increase due to global warming. To escape inflation, the easiest way is to pick your lily of the valley yourself in the forest. It’s free, but no more than a handful is the law, or 10 to 15 stems per person.
