Blooming shame: Pandemic, Ukraine war hurts orchid industryFarmer Somchai Lerdrungwitacha inspects orchids at his orchid farm in Nakhon Pathom province on April 7, 2022. But times are tough: Mr Somchai has been dipping into his savings for two years to keep paying his 50-odd employees. Adding to his woes are dramatically falling sales: pre-pandemic China bought 270 million orchid stems annually from Thailand -- a figure that dropped to 170 million last year. Before the pandemic, the company was delivering 3.6 million orchids a month to China, Japan, Vietnam and the United States. Now, only 1.2 million flowers leave the warehouse, and he has had to let go of half of his staff.

Source: Bangkok Post May 08, 2022 16:42 UTC