3 million flowers delivered to Almaty for March 8

Selling of flowers in Almaty. ©Yaroslav Radlovsky

2.73 million foreign flowers worth a total of $2.7 million were delivered to Almaty for March 8, STV Channel reports. Importing one flower costs 200 tenge ($1.33) including customs fees of 15 percent and VAT of 12 percent, according to Almaty Customs Control Department’s press-service. “Flowers totally worth $12.6 million were delivered to Almaty in 2012. 2.73 million flowers have been delivered to Almaty over the first two months of 2013,” Almaty Customs Control Department press-secretary Saltanat Turganbekova said. Flowers are mostly imported from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Israel, Ecuador, Kenya and Colombia to Almaty. Dutch roses are cultivated in Almaty oblast greenhouses, but their prices during holidays are almost the same as those of imported flowers.