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Floriculture exports sector is set to touch Rs 700 crore by 2010. Huge government subsidies, diverse geo-climatic conditions and a dearth of big players; the equation is perfect for your entry

Sipping champagne on the French Riviera, you contemplate the huge bouquet of fresh flowers that has been arriving with room service every single morning of your French holiday.

“What exotic beauties!” you think. Little would you know that those roses and chrysanthemums were grown virtually in your own backyard! Yes. France happens to be just one of the many countries to which India exports its floriculture products.

The message is simple. The world is saying it with flowers; and India has a part to play.

The floriculture export market in India, which stands at around Rs 400 crore, is projected to grow upto Rs 700 crore by 2010. Floriculture is a broad term used for a wide range of flower products such as cutflowers, flowering and ornamental plants, bulbs, tubers, corms, rhizomes, chicory, orchids, mosses etc. Amongst these, cutflowers comprise the majority of floriculture exports, nearing 72% of the total value. Cutflowers—both fresh and dried—command the maximum demand in the global export market. Its worldwide demand is growing at a rate of 6-10% per annum. Developed countries in Europe, the US, Japan, Singapore and Australia are the major importers since climatic conditions in these countries are unfavorable to year-round production of flowers.

This leaves us with a wide field to play in with many factors in favor. Good quality soil, suitable climate, abundant water supply, low labor cost and proximity to markets are a few of these. Given all this, it’s a pity that the number and size of the players in this segment have been pathetically small. And most of the players are unorganized small flower growers.

If you can afford to holiday on the French Riviera, you can surely start off a floriculture-export chain. With an initial investment of around Rs 10-15 crore a unit and earnings many times over, it is a wonder that you haven’t started already!

The prospects are green, which explains why the government of India is doing its bit for this business. To promote floriculture exports in the country, it has given 100% export status to floriculture and provides several tax benefits to EOUs.

Under the Seed Policy announced in 2002, import of seed and plant material has been made duty-free, subject to EXIM guidelines. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), established in 1986, grants subsidies for establishing cold storage, pre-cooling units, refrigerated vans and green houses and provides air freight subsidy for exports. It assists growers/ exporters in improving the quality of flowers and promotes efficient post harvest measures, packaging and quality-upgradation.

Why has organized floriculture not taken off in a big way? The reasons are many. Firstly, it is a capital intensive game. Secondly, it requires technical know-how. Thirdly, there is a lack of appropriate infrastructure.

DARE/carbon market

Roses, Chrysanthemum, Gladiolus, Carnation, Gerbera, Dahlia, Poinsettia, Orchids, Lily

Forms of export

Cutflowers are exported in two forms: Fresh form for bouquets and ornamental purposes Dried, dyed or bleached (as potpourri)

But setting up a floriculture unit is not a Herculean task. You need to follow a set of guidelines. As for the actual setting up of the flower farm, you need to consider factors such as the species of flowers you wish to grow, climatic conditions of the place, soil quality, water availability, and air or land connectivity. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and the North-Eastern states score high on these counts. With appropriate infrastructure in place, states in northern and western India also come into the list.

Appropriate infrastructure comprises anything from a simple greenhouse to one fitted with sophisticated irrigation systems and automated climate controller. The kind of infrastructure that you set up depends on the site that you select and the flowers you want to grow. For example, the greenhouse that you build in your farm will depend upon factors like intensity of sunlight, local temperatures, etc. Your climate control systems will largely depend on the same factors plus humidity of the place, rainfall, etc.

The actual process of cultivation needs to be done carefully. Different species of flowers need different treatments and environments. For example, roses and gerberas need a cool environment with sufficient sunlight and high humidity, whereas carnations can survive in much cooler environments. Also, the roses grown in the mountainous regions turn out to be bigger and better than those grown in the plains.

An efficient post harvest management system ensures that once the produce is harvested, it’s checked for quality, graded, sorted, bunched and maintained in cold storage facilities at required temperatures. The entire concept behind post harvest management systems is to ensure that the flowers are not destroyed, that your consumers get what they ask for—the best quality flowers, and you get the highest possible returns.

How much will you earn from it?
Each hectare produces 15-20 lakh flowers. From 10 hectares, you’ll make a produce of, say, 1.5 – 2 crore flowers. Loose flowers are usually traded by weight and the stemmed ones by dozen or stems. Roses and chrysanthemums are usually traded by weight or by the dozen. Gladiolus, carnation and gerberas are traded by the dozen whereas lilies and orchids are counted in stems. Roses, chrysanthemums sell for
Rs 40-60/ kg, gladiolus and gerberas for Rs 50-100/ dozen and orchids and lilies for Rs 20-60/ stem.

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