Kunming's cold heats flower costs for Valentine's Day

A resident in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, surnamed Tang, recently found a bouquet of 99 roses he wanted to send to his girlfriend on Valentine's Day was priced at 1,580 yuan ($260).

The price was almost triple the usual cost of 565 yuan, Huashang Daily reported on Friday.

The flower shop owner said the price of roses will keep rising ahead of Valentine's Day on Feb 14.

Media reports said the price of roses for this year's Valentine's Day would probably be the most expensive in recent years.

Flower shop owners said the cost of flowers has soared greatly in recent days due to rare cold and snowy weather that has hit Kunming, Yunnan province, since December.

The main flower production area in China, Kunming has experienced unusually cold weather since Dec 14, with many flower plants killed by the cold.

Flower production has decreased by more than 50 percent, which has made prices go up sharply across the country, according to the report.