Introduction
Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional
flowers to cut flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has
given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export
oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions. About
60,000 ha area is under
floriculture at present. Production
flowers is estimated to be 200,000 tonnes of loose flowers and 500
million (numbers) of cut flowers.
Floriculture - Production area
In India, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Haryana have
emerged as major floriculture entrees in recent times. At present, the
internal demand for cut-flower and ornamental plants in mainly met
through production at coastal areas of Kerala mainly Cochin &Trivandrum.
There is also a tremendous potential for growing these plants, on
commercial scale, along the coastal region in Maharashtra, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, besides in the Western Ghats.
Growth promotional activities
The most promising area is the dry flower industry. Dried flower and
plants have been exported for the last 30 years and today, India is one
of the leading countries in the field. In Rajasthan, more than 7,000
tonnes of rose are produced. About 75% of this is exported to West Asian
countries in the form of dry petals. Not just flowers, but other plant
parts like leaves, stems and pods are also used in the dry flower
industry.
Flower trade in India is flourishing as many research centers
and special nurseries have turned into a promising business. Exports of
floriculture products was valued at Rs. 700 million (US$ 20 million).
There has been an impressive growth in the export of cut flowers from
Rs. 10 million to Rs. 700 million in the previous years. More than 191
export-oriented units (EOUs) have been approved in the sector out of
which 70 units are operational. But many of them operate at less than
50% of their capacity. With redress of the problem, the
floriculture
industry thus may turn to be viable enterprise for earning foreign
exchange.
Besides the development due to the efforts of Institute for
Horticultural research in Bangalore and Institute for Botanical
Research, in 1970, another impetus was given to the business of
cultivating flowers with the establishment of the “Project for
Improving Horticulture in India”.
Types
The Indian flowers are either exported to world over in the form of
seeds or capsules or dried flowers. This industry has gained popularity
due to the presence of exclusive varieties of ornamental flowers grown
in India. Rose, Marigold, Chrysanthemum, Mogra are some of the mostly
sold varieties.
