More than two out of three Italians (69%) decided to buy plants and flowers on the occasion of the festivities of All Saints and All Souls to give them as a gift to their dead, in a celebration that remains among the most rooted in the national tradition. This is what emerges from the online survey on the website www.coldiretti.it on the occasion of the traditional visit to cemeteries to honor their loved ones. The memory of the deceased represents the most important anniversary of the year for many Italians but also for national floriculture that in this period achieves about 1/5 of its turnover albeit struggling with a dramatic crisis triggered by the increase in production costs linked to the war in Ukraine. The most purchased on the occasion are the chrysanthemums with prices ranging from 1.5 to 3 euros but can reach more than 20 euros if they are pots or bouquets. Due to energy increases, average expenses for nurseries have doubled (+95%) with peaks ranging from +250% for fertilizers to +110% for diesel or +1200% for methane for heating greenhouses, according to the Coldiretti analysis. But the increases also affect packaging - continues Coldiretti - from plastic for flower pots (+72%) to glass (+40%) and paper (+31%) for which, moreover, delivery times are also extended, in some cases even increased fivefold. Finally, 85% of Italian goods travel by road; however, the costs of transport have also exploded.
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