Pune, Jan. 30 A few years ago, the Indian floriculture industry had set itself on a course that would lead to flourishing overseas trade in fresh cut flowers, earning export revenues of Rs 1,000 crore by 2010.
Less than a year away from the target date, the revenue on this account is in double digits and has fallen steadily over the last three years. An auction centre set by the Union Government at Alsmeer in the Netherlands has just been closed down because of no response from exporters, and another in Mumbai remains unused for the last 18 months. And the dream of India as a player in the international flower market appears to have fallen by the wayside.
According to statistics made available by the Directorate-General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), flower exports earned Rs 301 crore during the 2005-06 fiscal. Of this, fresh cut stems, primarily roses, earned a mere Rs 74 crore, with dried flowers accounting for the balance!
Revenues fall
During 2007-08 fiscal, revenue from fresh flower stems further eroded to Rs 50 crore out of Rs 340 crore earned from floral exports. And, overseas sales being hit during the last three months of 2008, with no signs of revival despite Valentine’s Day – the biggest annual event on the flower sales calendar – being round the corner, it is feared 2008-09 will be significantly worse.
Interestingly, in the years under review, the total value of exports under the aegis of the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) grew 70 per cent from Rs 18,782 crore (2005-06) to Rs 31,870 crore during 2007-08. According to the Chairman, Mr Asit Tripathi, growth this year is expected to be 15-25 per cent.
Not in tune with times
Mr Raj Kumar Mirakhur, Pune-based consultant to several
EOU floriculture projects ascribes three main reasons for the dwindling exports. “Roses are like fashion, the preferences keep changing and most Indian growers are still growing old varieties which have no takers. Getting new varieties involves paying royalty to breeders which they shy away from,” he explains.
Poor keeping quality of Indian roses and flooding of European markets by cost competitive Kenyan, Ethiopian and Israeli blooms coupled with high freight cost, a deterrent to tapping the Japanese market, are among the other reasons he cites for the Indian floriculturists’ flagging export fortunes. Not to mention the booming domestic market that is variously placed anywhere between Rs 3,000-10,000 crore.
Mr Tripathi is disappointed by this trend despite a series of measures to boost exports, admitting though that there are some issues such as high input costs that need to be addressed. “The industry has a great export potential, and must learn to innovate,” he says, adding that this year APEDA will devote Rs 10 crore to rehabilitate six growers of 39 identified as being in need of financial assistance.
Source : Business Line