The high alert in Delhi, after the US and some other western countries issued a warning to their citizens that the Indian capital could be a victim of terror attack very soon, has made no impact on flower growers and sellers of Connaught Place Phool Mandi in the heart of the capital city. They are buoyed over the lagun (auspicious time for marriage ceremony) period spanning two to three months from 17th of May that could certainly boost the flower business, now going on at a snail's pace. Connaught Place phool mandi, spread out in a place around the popular Coffee House just opposite Hanuman Mandir, a landmark in the city, is arguably the city's largest flower market where growers, sellers and consumers huddle together from 4 to 9 in the morning. It is an open space made available for floriculture business by the municipal authorities (NDMC).

Seasonal demand
"The terror warning has hardly any effect on floriculture business. Our sales depend heavily on particular seasons, especially marriage season," affirmed Pal florist, a flower seller. As far as Valentine's Day or any other one-day celebration is concerned, it does not make much of a difference in the volume of sale for aarhatiya (commission agent) and mashakar (wholesaler). "Those sales are for a short duration and hence, benefit mainly the retailers."
Yes, he added, the weather in the capital at present is not conducive to flowers retaining their freshness. The city is getting hotter day by day- April made the records this year- it is very difficult for us to manage all these things. He quotes the oft-repeated saying about the nature of flower business: bika to phool, nahi to dhool (if sold, it is flower or else, it is just dust), to underscore the perishable nature of flower.

The moment I entered the market, I saw scores and scores of flower sellers, squatting cheek by jowl with their attendants trying to catch the attention of consumers of different types - as varied, as it were, as the flowers arranged for sale. Ved Pal Kaherana, a florist & vice-president of Cut Flower Grower & Supplier Association remarked that there are about 250 people who have got licence to do business here, while the rest of the florists are not authorized to do so. "They are making trouble for us by getting the proceeds that we licensee florists were entitled to earlier. Playing foul politics by some vested interests is responsible for all the mess and we have to pay the price for it."

Trade associations
The CP flower market is being looked after by three associations -- Cut Flower Grower & Supplier Association, Phool Patti Utpadak Kalyan Samiti and Delhi Flower, Cutters, Growers & Suppliers Welfare Association. Elaborating on the functioning of the market, a florist said the flower business chain works in a pyramid shape ¬¬¬¬¬-- starting from the top are commission agents, wholesalers, seasonal flower & flower-leaves sellers and finally flower-growers -- the number of people involved in a specific segment tapering from bottom to top. People involved in this business are flooding the area resulting in continuous shrinkage of space for individual traders.

License to do trade in flower business is issued by Flower Market Committee, which works under the aegis of Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board. On condition of anonymity, a florist said manipulators and middle-man are ruling the roost while managing the mandi. Even political influence can't be ruled out when it comes to hog the market share as the big fish sometimes get involved, he said. There is a cartel of a few local politicians and muscle flexing-elements whose self interest does not allow the CP market to be shifted to Ghazipur. These elements bully the unauthorized florists into greasing their palm to enable them to conduct their business, he added.

Shifting problem
"Although Okhala Phool mandi was got ready in 2001, no shops have been allotted to us yet," said a florist. Now the situation is getting more alarming owing to the increasing number of florists getting involved in this business. "It is not possible now to shift all the people of this trade to Okhala Phool mandi," he adds. Moreover, government is thinking of shifting CP Phool mandi to Ghazipur. When asked about the auction centre that Delhi Government has been planning to set up at Ghazipur and the proposal to shift the Connaugt Place mandi there very soon, Kaherana affirmed, "If the plan is executed in its present form, it could ruin our flower business. The Auction Centre plan has many deficiencies and lacunae. Until and unless the interests of flower traders are properly addressed, it would become very difficult for many of us to survive."

He added, if the auction centre comes into existence, as the government is inclined to carry out its plan, surely it would prove to be a disaster for the flower traders. For, in this scheme of things, government itself becomes a commission agent and the present-day commission agent turns into a wholesaler; thus ruining the prospect of traders at the upper level of the structure. His suggestion was that the government should allot a single shop to each trader and confine its role to only monitoring the trade. "Government is bent upon making the auction centre into a swanky air conditioned mall, which would be only for a handful of traders who can afford," says Shyam Singh Bisht, a florist and a member of Phool Patti Utpadak Kalyan Samiti. He added, the cost of auction centre project is estimated at 317 crore rupees, that in turn works out to be 50-60 lakh rupees for each trader.

Expert view
Industry Experts, however, do not subscribe to the traders' viewpoint completely. They say if the auction centre or wholesale market is established, it will immensely help the growers. For selling their products, growers currently have to look towards commission agents who arbitrarily fix the rates of the products. This is not conducive to growers getting a fair deal. Quoting the Delhi High Court decision, Kaherana said "the court has pronounced that until Ghazipur mandi is not properly established, traders of CP Phool Mandi be allowed to stay at their original place." Next hearing is scheduled soon and the florists are awaiting the final verdict. Though the stay-on decision of High Court is still in practice, the flower market committee appears to be in a hurry to shift the CP mandi to Ghazipur without getting the infrastructure properly built, said Ved Pal, adding, "if all the three mandis -- other two mandis are Loose Flowers Fatehpuri and Loose Flowers Mehrauli-- are to be shifted in tandem providing us a level playing field for competition, no one would suffer the loss in consequence." The reaction was mixed among the traders over how Commonwealth Games could boost the trade. While some traders are anticipating the event to become a boon for the trade, a few of them are skeptical, while still others are awaiting it with their fingers crossed. Ved Pal says "certainly the consumption of flower would go up during the sporting events spanning almost a month when people will flock from not only other parts of India but also from foreign countries. It could boost sales." Disagreeing with this optimistic version, Shyam Singh Bisht said that the games would have no impact on sale of flowers. Yes, he added, that lagun period will certainly have a positive impact on flower business.

Demand-supply mismatch
Sharing his views with Floriculture Today, Shiv Kumar Thakur, president of Phool Patti Utpadak Kalyan Samiti, said, "There is a gross mismatch between demand and supply of flowers. The demand in local market as well as in other states is not in accordance with the supply." Hailing the government policy as responsible for increase in production, he said that government schemes have helped to some extent. "The schemes lure the farmers into growing flowers through subsidies. As a consequence, more & more farmers are being encouraged to grow flowers in bulk, resulting in abundant supply in the market. Unfortunately, the demand of flower has not kept pace with the supply. Experts, however, differ with Thakur, saying the rising income and increasing population certainly have a direct impact on flower use during different occasions and in daily life. The demand for flowers could rise much higher. Owing to lack of kiosks and shops in convenient places in cities and towns for sale of flowers, people do lose their interest in buying flowers for gifts. Traditionally, people here buy flowers in bulk on the occasion of marriage and other ceremonies or consume loose flowers for puja (worship) in mandir and gurdwara on a daily basis. Gradually, cut flowers are becoming popular with people who use them for expressing their feelings or as a gift. Though it is at nascent stage, hopefully this culture of flower use will get rooted in our psyche in the days to come. For this purpose, cooperatives and private bodies like organised retailers could set up shops and kiosks in greater number, say experts.

On subsidy
Bisht said the government subsidy on flower cultivation should be banned altogether. It is proving to be more of a harm than a benefit to farmers. He reasons out that the large chunk of subsidy falls into the net of big farmers who use it to convert their black money into white. APEDA & NHB wash off their hands after giving the subsidy to the grower without doing anything as a follow-up, he complained. Experts say given its size and diverse climatic conditions, India remains a potential giant in floriculture. Compare India with Thailand and Kenya, much smaller and poorer countries in comparison to India. They have done a wonderful job surpassing India's growth in sale of floriculture products. The governments of these countries have recognized floriculture as an industry. The government of India as well state governments should take the initiative to develop floriculture as a full-fledged industry. Flower markets in India have a turnover of about Rs.1000 crore, with a potential to go up 10 to 25 times. Experts have recommended that we need to focus especially on marketing, transportation, R&D, financial assistance, training of labour and dissemination of information. India, having been blessed with bountiful nature, congenial climate and cheap labour & land, has vast potential to emerge as a force to be reckoned with in global flower trade.

Thakur says these factors along with long experience of flower cultivation do help growers in this country in reducing the production costs. Experts feel despite the immense and untapped potential in floriculture, cut flowers being comparatively a new concept, the requirements of scientific and commercial floriculture are yet to be properly understood in the country. The developmental initiatives of the government have to take care of the low knowledge base, small land holdings, unorganized marketing and poor infrastructural support. Cut flowers, pot plants, cut foilage, seeds bulbs, tubers, rooted cuttings and dried flowers or leaves are the main products in floriculture. Floricultural crops that are much in demand in the international cut flower trade are rose, carnation, chrysanthemum, gerbera, gladiolus, gypsophila, liastris, nerine, orchids, archilea, anthurium, tulip, and lilies.

Delhi's status
APEDA lists Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and West Bengal having emerged as major floriculture centers. But what about Delhi, one wonders? Delhi makes available a good market by connecting with every part of the country. It has a large consumer base as well. Although in quantitative terms, its production is not much, Delhi has successfully carved out a distinct place and emerged as the largest market in floriculture business in the last couple of decades. Growers and sellers across the country converge here for their flower business. It is unfortunate that the establishment of a proper flower market equipped with modern facilities remains still on paper. India boasts of having a long floriculture history and growing flower for worship, decoration and other aesthetic purposes. But commercialization of floriculture in an organised way began only in the 1990's. The growing demand for flowers in the domestic as well as in the export market will require concerted efforts on the part of the government as well as the private entrepreneurs. Government needs to implement the policy under way on a war footing to help develop floriculture industry in a more organised way. Paying attention to the input needs, better resource management and making the policy entrepreneur-friendly would lead to balanced growth of the industry.