Roses will cost this Sant Jordi around 2% more for the consumer, with an estimated minimum price of 5 euros for a quality flower and a range of between 8 and 20 euros in the case of designer roses. The sector takes for granted an increase, although it expects to absorb part of the increase at origin to contain the impact on the final sale.
The forecast in Catalonia is for 7 million roses sold during the day, of which 2.3 million will pass through Mercabarna Flor, one of the main distribution centers in the Barcelona area for one of the most intense commercial campaigns of the year.
The rise at origin squeezes the sector
The increase for wholesalers stands at 5%, but the rise to the public will be more moderate because the sector will assume a part of that additional cost. Among the factors that explain this adjustment are the increase in the price of kerosene and the 23.8% rise in the minimum wage in Colombia foreseen from 2026.
That price increase fully affects the supply chain in a campaign marked by external dependence. 80% of the roses that will be sold in Cataluña will be of Colombian origin, while 15% will arrive from Ecuador and 5% from the Países Bajos.
Very limited local production
Catalan production continues to be testimonial. Throughout the territory there is only one producer in Santa Susanna, in Maresme, with a harvest of 20,000 roses, a figure very far from the volume that the market will move during Sant Jordi.
The forecasts for this campaign have been conveyed by Raquel Gil, deputy mayor of Barcelona and president of Mercabarna, together with Miquel Batlle, president of the Associació de Majoristes de Mercabarna Flor, in a context of strong demand and with the focus placed on maintaining affordable prices for the final buyer despite the increase in costs.
With this scenario, the rose will once again be one of the commercial thermometers of Sant Jordi in Barcelona and in the whole of Catalonia, with millions of units in circulation and a market that tries to balance costs, supply and price on one of the most significant dates of the calendar.