MONEY»
Flower business blooms, exports soar
KATHMANDU, AUG 20 -
Exports of floral products from Nepal increased to Rs. 29.2 million in 2008/09 from Rs. 24.2 million in 2007/08, said the Floriculture Association of Nepal (FAN).
An increase in demand for floral products like bulbs, tubers, rhizomes, unrooted cutting and slips, live plants and rose led to considerable growth in exports to the US, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, the UK, Japan and China.
According to FAN president Arun Chhetri, there has been an annual increase of 10-15 percent in exports for the last few years. “The total floral business volume in the country, including exports, is about Rs. 560 million per year,” he said.
As per the stats obtained from FAN, plants, seasonal flowers and cut flowers worth Rs. 560,000 were sold in the domestic market in 2008/09. Similarly, demand for gladiolus, rose, tuberose and camation was between 1,500-5,000 in 2008/09. Similarly, between 3,000-4,000 units of gerabera and 200-300 units of orchids were sold in the same period. There were 60 flower showrooms in the Kathmandu Valley in 2008/09.
Flowers like gladiolus, rose, camation, gerabera and orchid are the most exportable, said Janga Bahadur Tamang, program coordinator at FAN. “Nepal has a climate advantage over other countries in floriculture.
Day and night temperatures between 20-30 and 5-20 degrees Celsius respectively coupled with humidity between 40-60 percent and soil acidity between 5.0-6.0 pH are ideal requisites for commercial flower species,” he added.
“There is a tremendous export potential,” said Chhetri. “But cheap products from India and China can take a big toll on the business.” According to him, while Indian traders virtually dump their state-subsidized floral products in Nepal, some Chinese traders have recently leased 100 ropanis of land in Lalitpur for floriculture, thus waging an intense price war with Nepali farmers.
“While a Chinese brings a flower sapling for Rs. 20 from China under a subsidized rate, the same costs Nepali farmers Rs. 60. So to compete with them in terms of price is impossible,” said Chhetri.
However, he stated that plans were underway to replace the current annual import of Indian ornamental flowers worth between Rs. 6-7 million within the next three years. “Community floriculture has already been started in places like Chitwan, and we are bent on forming floriculture cooperatives. I have also been talking to quarantine officers to check the dumping of Indian flowers in Nepal. If all goes well, domestic demand for ornamental flowers will be met from local producers,” said Chhetri.
In recent times, traders from many Gulf countries have been frequenting Nepal to expedite the export of floral products to their respective countries, said Chhetri. “That shows the export potential, but government negligence has been undermining the prospects,” he added.
Global consumption of floriculture products is predicted to rise by 30 percent by 2014. Worldwide trade in floriculture stood at US$ 11.9 billion in 2005 with consistent growth in the following years.
According to FAN, 6,500 species of flowers and ornamental plants including 380 species of orchids are available in the country in addition to more than 50 and 100 varieties of cut flowers and bulbs.
Export of
floral products
Year Amount (in Rs.)
1998-99 730,560
1999-00 547,200
2000-01 4,007,569
2001-02 1,328,162
2002-03 18,259,383
2003-04 11,204,703
2004-05 16,228,315
2005-06 32,634,275
2006-07 20,844,930
2007-08 24,216,171
2008-09 29,205,311
Source: FAN
Posted on: 2010-08-21 09:10
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