Bangkok Violence Affecting Hawaii’s Flower Business

HONOLULU — The escalating violence in Bangkok is slowing down production among orchid vendors.

Employees at Island Gifts and Flowers in Chinatown unpacked a daily shipment of orchids from Thailand Wednesday afternoon. They expect the shipments to either slow to a trickle or stop completely in the next couple of weeks.

Florists and plant nurseries around Oahu fear they will run out of orchid lei just as graduation season begins.

Customers rushed to buy orchid lei for graduating friends Wednesday evening. “It’s cheaper when you’re giving it to a lot of people and it’s nice, it’s simple,” said customer Noel Ibon.

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