Okinawa chrysanthemums hit peak shipping period in lead up to Higan holiday, extra shipping flights also being scheduled

Okinawa chrysanthemums hit peak shipping period in lead up to Higan holiday, extra shipping flights also being scheduled

Employees selecting chrysanthemums to be shipped for Higan – March 10, Inanse, Urasoe


March 12, 2021 Ryukyu Shimpo

 

With the Japanese holiday Higan approaching in March, the busiest time of the year has come for shipping Okinawa-grown chrysanthemums. The chrysanthemums, which are used to adorn graves and Buddhist shrines, has seen a relatively minor impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, and advance orders are doing quite well. In addition to the regular transport flights, ANA will be operating additional cargo planes on March 10 and 13 from ANA, and JAL will be doing the same March 14.

The March chrysanthemum shipping volumes are expected to be down 12% cases compared to the previous year at 182,000 cases, due to heavy rain during the planting period last October, and insufficient sunlight in December, and other plants are expected to ship an average 10,000 cases. The revenue from these shipments is forecasted to be around 1.5 million yen.

Chrysanthemums are trending downward in terms of demand, as important family ceremonies grow smaller in scale. In particular, the coronavirus pandemic has curtailed the size of funeral services. Shigeyuki Miyagi, chairman of the Okinawa Floriculture Agricultural Cooperative (OFAC), producers of the “Flowers of the sun” brand, said, “I hope people want to buy these flowers for Higan, important farewells, and moments like leaving home to start a new life. I want to help heal people souls by decorating their houses with even a single flower.”

(English translation by T&CT and Sam Grieb)

 

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