Florists in Bahrain have reported bumper sales for Valentine's Day celebrations, with some achieving nearly 90 per cent increase in sales.

They said red roses were the top sellers, with most saying they had to order more than 25,000 each to meet increase in demand.

'Business has never been this excellent. Our sales have tripled this year,' said Singapore Flower manager Steve Vlajic.

Florists also said they were working overtime, sometimes even up to midnight, to make flower arrangements and sort out delivery schedules.

'The staff at the shop have been working very hard, and we expect to remain open till midnight on Valentine's Day,' said Vlajic.

He said the shop first started receiving orders three weeks ago.

'We have ordered 10 tonnes of roses and exotic flowers from France, England, Singapore, Thailand, India, Columbia and Ecuador, to name a few,' he added.

The shop has more than 150 deliveries scheduled for today and more orders and deliveries are expected for tomorrow.

Sales at the Riviera Flower Shop have improved by 88 per cent this Valentine's Day, according to staff.

It is open seven days a week, and staff have been working extra hours for the past week to receive orders and arrange deliveries, said shop manager Fadwa Rizqi Al Shawi.

'It's so hectic. Ever since last week, we've been working up to our necks, but it's good to know that there are a lot of romantics in Bahrain,' she said.

Al Shawi said that many of the customers were single women.

'Normally, most of our customers are men when it's Valentine's Day. But this year, we got more women than men coming in to buy flowers, especially bouquets of red roses,' she said.

'One of our male customers ordered a 163-metre-long flower arrangement to match his wife's height.'

'This is the most expensive flower arrangement this year, costing BD959 ($2,554).'

The most popular flower is the red rose at the shop, however red tulips are fast becoming a big sell-out, added Al Shawi.

Alia Flowers manager Varghese Modiyil reported booming business, with more orders than previous years.

'The shop has been very busy ever since last Wednesday. The biggest orders this Valentine's Day have been for red roses, while there is a big rise in the orders of heart-shaped chocolates as well,' said Modiyil.

'The most expensive flower arrangement ordered this year cost BD700.

'More than 25,000 red roses have arrived just in time for Valentine's Day and staff has been working overtime for the past few days on orders, flower arrangements and deliveries. 'The shop's 10 delivery vans will be busy all day today.'

Agroflora manager Santosh Chandran said that most of the store's customers on Valentine's Day were Westerners.

'We imported more than 3,000 roses especially for the day from Kenya,' he said.-TradeArabia News Service