With rising income and increased western trend of gifting flowers, the growers are finding domestic market more lucrative than exporting it as the demand has gone up by fifty per cent in last two years.
"Domestic market, backed by increasing income, is offering immense potential to flower growers, forcing growers to concentrate only on it," Indian Flowers and Ornamental Plants Welfare Association President SJ Naqvi told reporters here today.
Within two years, the domestic flower market has shot up to Rs 1,500 crore from Rs 1,000 crore. "With the change in lifestyle, people are now spending a lot of money on buying flowers for gifts, marriages and floral designing etc which has provided impetus to domestic market," said Naqvi.
With flower growers getting good prices from domestic market exports has been hit, plunging to Rs 448 crore in 2007-08 from Rs 650 crore in 2006-07, he said.
"Flower export has been hit mainly because of shifting of focus of flower growers to domestic market," he added.
Holland, Japan, Australia and West Asia are biggest export markets for India.