". . .Flower units face major problems . . . the promised common infrastructure is not in place. . . auction centres have not taken shape. . . the imported auction clock in Mumbai may well become a junk. . ."
"The time to act is now. Unless we step up our efforts with a sense of urgency, one should not be surprised if India, whose share in the world trade of flowers is much less than one per cent, soon becomes a regular importer of flowers."
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| Commercial floriculture in India is going through a paradigm shift. A downward trend in export of flowers and floral products out of the country is perceptible, and it has made the trade and government agencies sit up. There's also a silver lining in the horizon. The domestic demand is showing a robust growth of 15 to 20 per cent in major cities and the bullish local market offers promising business opportunities for corporates. On the occasion of the 4th International Flora Expo 2008 in New Delhi, prominent spokesmen of the industry have emphasized there is an urgent need for a serious action plan to put the flower business on a sound footing. If the drift is allowed to continue, the country may end up as a regular importer, they say. |
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Major event
Through the years, Flora Expo has emerged as a major event of India's floriculture industry. An International Landscape & Gardening Expo and an International Florist & Floral Art Expo were part of the annual event organized by the Media Today group and iFlora. It was at the first Flora Expo in Bangalore in 2005 that government set the industry on a blooming track and gave APEDA, the nodal agency for export development, a target of Rs 10 billion in export of flower and flower products to achieve in five years. But the trade figures of the last year tell a different story. The floriculture export in 2007-08 dropped in value terms by 42 per cent to 83,67 million dollars (from 144.40 million dollars a year ago), according to provisional figures. In rupee terms, the fall works out to 48.21 per cent - from 6.52 billion rupees to 3.38 billion rupees. The much fancied Agriculture Export Zones - six in all - have not apparently helped boost exports in any big way. Again, in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, flower units face major problems and many have closed down. The promised common infrastructure is not in place. Auction centers have not taken shape and are not helping the industry, either. Said one industry player, "In Mumbai, the auction centre is not working and the costly imported auction clock may well become a junk in course of time."
Rising imports
While exports decline, flower imports have been on the rise. Consumers are ready to pay and buy those flowers. Foreign suppliers are visible more and more. China looks like emerging as a significant supplier. So are Thailand, Taiwan. Australian Trade Mission is active as well, and traditional soft flowers from that country have begun to gain market here. Closer home, Nepal is getting special duty free access in EU and production is expanding. Pakistan is also trying to emerge as a production centre and Indian companies are supplying high quality inputs to Pakistan. Sri Lanka is already a proven supplier of greens and flowers to Europe and South East Asian markets. "We in India need a serious action plan," says MB Naqvi, Coordinator of the Expo. "Else, we'll become a more regular importer." Last year, back from Japan after studying the potential there and what the Indian suppliers could do, a senior government official SM Desalphine (the then Additional Secretary of Agriculture) gave serious thought and took the initiative of inviting all stakeholders for a meeting in Krishi Bhavan. What emerged was a serious plan to put floriculture in India on a proper footing. The plan would involve concerted action by the Ministry of Agriculture's departments of NHB, NHM and TMNE, state horticulture departments and by APEDA, the agency under Ministry of Commerce. The report of that meeting, however, is gathering dust while the industry still awaits implementation of the recommendations.
Closure of units
S Jafar Namqvi, Chief Co-coordinator of Flora Expo 2008 & President (iFlora), explained the recent signs of a setback in floriculture exports, attributing it to the sudden real estate boom and other factors which have forced a few mega floriculture export units to close down in the Pune and Bangalore region. Although some new units have come up, they are much smaller in size. In Pune region, for instance, out of 26 big units which were functioning earlier, only 10 or 11 are in business now. In Talegaon Floriculture Park, which started with much promise allotting land to nearly 100 companies, only 25-30 small units are operating because of labour shortage and other problems. The Flora Expo should provide a platform for all to work out a viable strategy to give a fillip to floriculture. State horticulture departments, particularly, would do well to take advantage of National Horticulture Mission's programmes and give greater attention to such areas as South Gujarat, South Maharashtra, North Karnataka, hilly areas of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, J&K and North Eastern states which are well endowed to grow flowers and ornamental plants to meet the growing needs of both domestic and international market. These emerging production centres have such advantages as availability of labour, good water and soils and ample sunlight. Given the proper incentives, the farmers there are ready to diversify their cropping patterns towards floriculture and thus sustain the growth of this sector.
Positive side
"In my opinion, the downtrend in exports has its positive side as well, as it indicates the maturity of the domestic market, growing from strength to strength", said Naqvi. "The time to act is now. Unless we step up our efforts with a sense of urgency, one should not be surprised if India, whose share in the world trade of flowers is much less than one per cent, soon becomes a regular importer of flowers." The 4th Flora Expo has indeed been well timed. Boosting per capita income, changing lifestyles, mall culture, bollywood mania and many more feel good factors are giving a definite push to per capita consumption of flowers and plants in this country. If properly planned, in the coming years floriculture has the potential to emerge as a major agri biz segment to create a million jobs to rural and urban Indians, especially women. India is world's fastest growing Retail Market, Second Largest Consumer base and has unlimited opportunities for growth. To make Indian Floriculture a force to reckon with, Flora Expo 2008 and Landscape & Gardening Expo 2008 provide the platform to interact with flower importers globally. Making India a "Flower Power' is part of a new National Vision for Floriculture, the brainchild of President APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India. Hitherto a marginal player in the global flower business, the floriculture industry is targeting an annual $1-billion in export of floriculture products in coming years.
Domestic demand
Commercial floriculture is as beneficiary of the policy of crop diversification in agriculture. The growth in this segment is reflected in rising domestic demand for flower and floral exports. Commercial floriculture is increasingly being considered a high remunerative economic activity by small and large farmers across the country and if the sector gets organized, there could be a massive Rs. 10,000 crore business opportunity! It is worthwhile noting that despite India's share in the $ 11 billion global market for flowers and flower products having touched just about 0.65 per cent, the growth potential is large. Recognizing the importance of the sector, government of India as well as state governments have taken steps to provide support to the sector. Corporate Houses are encouraged to set up units with global scale and size, so they can meet the volume, consistency and quality demands of the global buyers. For instance, companies like Reliance, ITC, Tata Tea, Bharti Group, AV Birla, Big Apple, Namdhari Fresh, Subhiksha, Shopper's Stop will be entering to tap this as a potential business opportunity or as bulk buyers for their retail chains.
Schemes galore
Realizing the importance of floriculture's contribution to national agricultural economy, the Government of India has introduced many developmental programmes mainly through the schemes of Ministry of Commerce (APEDA) and Ministry of Agriculture (National Horticulture Board), National Horticulture Mission, Technology Mission for North Eastern States etc. In fact, there is no dearth of schemes. Most of the state governments have also initiated their own programmes to provide technical and financial assistance to the millions of small and large producers. Prominent schemes of APEDA to promote this sector are the Transport Assistance Scheme and other schemes to promote floriculture exports, infrastructure development/upgradation assistance, promotion of Agri Export Zones for floriculture, and the like. Separately, NHB under the Ministry of Agriculture has a subsidy scheme for encouraging growth of new floriculture units. In the global floriculture industry, competitive advantages can be created and retained only by achieving a critical mass of production and our country has natural advantages that can be harnessed to create such competitive advantages in the production and exports.
Landscape Expo
An important part of Flora Expo is the 3rd International Landscape & Gardening Expo 2008. This needs to be viewed against the backdrop of the following developments: Indian real estate sector has witnessed a revolution, driven by the booming economy, favourable demographics and liberalized foreign direct investment (FDI) regime. Growing at a scorching 30 per cent, it has emerged as one of the most appealing segment for domestic as well as foreign Real Estate Developers. As per Merrill Lynch report, an estimated US$ 25 billion investment will be required over the next five years in urban housing in India. This boom has opened a new era for Indian ornamental plants and nursery industry supplying trees, greens and plants for urban development. According to news reports, leading producers of plants and trees and specialized nurserymen from Europe and other regions are joining Indian companies to come out with varieties of trees and plants for Indian market and exports as well. Indian tissue culture industry has a proven record the world over and leading European plant breeders are sending their new varieties to Indian labs to multiply their planting materials. In Western and Southern India, tissue culture labs are already exporting high quality produces to over 20 countries and they are now joining hands to secure foreign investments and Joint ventures. All this will open up new opportunities for specialized nursery concept in Indian continent.
Real estate
Simultaneously, the rapid growth of the Indian economy has had a cascading effect on demand for commercial property to help meet the needs of business, such as mall culture, green belts, amusement parks, residential townships, modern offices, golf courses, hotels & resorts, giving a new dimension to the art of landscaping. Indian real estate developers like Ansal API, DLF Universal, Omaxe, Hiranandani Developers, Salarpuria Group, MGF Emmaar Properties, Prestige Group, Supertech, Unitech Builders, Rizvi Builders, Hafeez Contractors, K Raheja Group, Raheja Developers, Meriton Group, Parasnath Developers, International Land Developers, Aashiyana Group, Sahara Group, JMD, Amrapali Group, Panchsheel Buildtech, M2K, Kalpataru Constructions, Merlin Group, Rungta Group and many more have joined the new urbanization revolution in India by creating new "Green Living Concepts". The Expo organizers have invited all leading builders and town planners to source new green living products through this mega event serving the need of the nation.
Floral art
India is also the second largest consumer base and has unlimited opportunities for growth in flower retailing. India's flower trade is attracting a large demand from an estimated 300 million middle class people. Flower consumption in the cities and major towns is reportedly growing at 40 per cent per annum. Flower retail shops and boutiques have mushroomed all over the cities and towns. The demand will get further impetus with the growth of modern retailing concepts. Alongside, India has become world's attractive tourism destination, creating a new boom in flower consumption in Hospitality industry. Cover Story Flower designing is a centuries old art, craft and skill in India by way of displaying flower arrangements in temples of worship, marriages and many religious and social functions. A surging per capita income and progressive lifestyles have led to a phenomenal increase in florist & floral designing market in this country. With the ever-growing gift-lovers' interest in flowers, the floral industry is growing at a very good pace. So it is only appropriate that the Expo organizers have added one more event - International Florist & Floral Art Expo 2008. This will be a meeting point for flower growers, wholesalers, retailers, marriage planners, event organizers, corporate houses, floral designing schools, super market chains and suppliers of all kinds of floral accessories and inputs. This would be a good opportunity for them to augment their business through interactions and business dealings. One hopes the recent downtrend in floral exports and other setbacks are a temporary phase for the Indian floriculture on the march. With concerted action and an effective action plan, much can be achieved. |
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