A severe and unexpected frost has wreaked havoc on jasmine cultivation in Tamil Nadu's Madurai district, triggering an unprecedented spike in prices that has left traders and consumers in shock. The delicate flowers, integral to South Indian culture and rituals, have seen their market value multiply overnight due to a catastrophic drop in supply.
Frost Fury: A Blow to Jasmine Belts
Early morning frost conditions over recent days have severely damaged jasmine crops across several growing belts in the district. Flower merchants reported a drastic fall in arrivals at major markets, including the prominent Mattuthavani flower market. The damage has been so extensive that areas which typically produced 10 kilograms of jasmine are now yielding merely 50 flowers, according to M Kamatchi, a merchant at the Mattuthavani market.
Kamatchi explained that jasmine plants are highly sensitive to temperature swings, and the prolonged cold spell has critically affected flowering. This natural calamity has created a massive supply-demand gap just as the festive season approaches.
Record-Breaking Price Surge Ahead of Pongal
The price surge has been sharp and steep. As of Friday, Madurai jasmine was being sold at ₹6,000 per kilogram, a figure already considered exceptionally high. However, the situation was even more extreme in Usilampatti, where prices touched a staggering ₹12,000 per kg.
Kamatchi warned that the prices in Madurai city could further increase, potentially touching ₹10,000 per kg within the next three days. This would shatter the previous highest recorded price of ₹8,000 per kg in the region. The timing could not be worse, with the harvest festival of Pongal around the corner. Demand for jasmine, used extensively in religious rituals, offerings, and household decorations during the festival, is expected to rise sharply, putting additional upward pressure on prices.
An Unprecedented Event in Five Decades
The scale of this price fluctuation is historic. S Ramachandran, President of the Madurai Meenakshi flower market association, stated that he has not witnessed such a dramatic rise in jasmine prices in the last fifty years. He attributed the extreme volatility to a combination of the devastating frost and consistent export demand from other countries, which further tightens domestic supply.
The situation highlights the vulnerability of agricultural produce, especially delicate flowers, to climate variations. With farmers counting their losses and consumers bracing for expensive festivities, the region awaits warmer days for the jasmine yield—and market prices—to normalize.
