| Till a few years back, India was known for its roses abroad. But with floriculture booming in many parts of the country, flowers of some exotic varieties are also making it into the export list.
Till a few years back, roses of different varieties were the main export items for us. But now even tulips and lilies cultivated in India are being exported to countries like Japan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Today, you can buy these flowers in almost all places in the country, says Ajay Barua, a flower dealer and the vice president of the flower mandi here.
Though these two varieties of flowers are being grown here, the seeds come mainly from Holland.
The seeds mainly come from Holland. But the flowers produced here are not inferior to those produced there in any aspect. Usually these flowers come to the market in November and remain till February, says Barua.
While the flowers of exotic varieties have helped farmers increase their earning, they have also added to the export pie of the dealers. Not to forget the Indian customers, for whom fresh exotic flowers are now at a sniffing distance.
Since these flowers are being grown here itself, flower dealers can save a lot of money. It also reduces the gap between the time flowers are plucked and the time they reach the end customers. As a result, flowers remain fresher. This way, the customers are getting fresh flowers at reasonable prices, says Barua.
Delhi, which boasts of the biggest flower market in Asia, gets these exotic flowers mainly from the southern states including Karnataka and Andhra
Pradesh. Besides, they are also being cultivated in Delhi and Manali.
The flower market in Delhi has grown manifold in the last couple of years, as floriculture has come up in a big way in several states in the country including Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal.
Flowers of both desi and exotic varieties are being grown in many places as India has different types of climates at different places, which suit different varieties of flowers. For example, we get lilies from Manali; gerberas from Pune and Bangalore and aunthorium from Kerala, says Govind Singh, a flower dealer for 10 years.
With the boom in floriculture, flower exports have also gone up significantly in the last few years. Experts estimate that exports from Delhi alone generate nearly 100 crore each year.
Flowers worth nearly 100 crore are exported from Delhi. Of this 80 per cent comes through indirect export, while the rest comes through direct export. Indirect export is when dealers from other countries personally visit our market and purchase flowers and direct export is when we export flowers to our regular clients in other countries, says Barua. |
