Bangalore flower auction centre to bloom by Nov

The auction centre of International Flower Auction Bangalore(IFAB) will be operational by November 2005 as the construction is scheduled to complete by October. IFAB will adopt the Dutch method of auctioning.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) is funding the construction with a small stake from the Karnataka government. State government is providing the land for construction.

The Rs 10.38 crore IFAB complex is being constructed on Bellay Road on 5.1 acre belonging to Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation (KAIC). Currently, about 40 large growers and numerous small growers are participating in the daily flower auctions.

As much as Rs 75 lakh has been accessed under the Aside scheme (Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure) to create the IT infrastructure for auctioning and acquiring refrigerated vans.

IFAB will be operated and controlled by growers through the South India Floriculture Association (SIFA) and backed by key players like Apeda and Karnataka Agricultural Produce Processing Export Corporation (Kappec).

SIFA has the controlling stake of 51 per cent in IFAB, while small growers hold 16 per cent and the balance is held by government agencies like KAIC and Kappec.

There is a move to link all the Agri Export Zone (AEZs),Bangalore urban and rural, Kolar, Tumkur, Belgaum and Kodagu, to IFAB. Through this the auction centre will get critical volume.

Plans are also on to link all AEZs by refrigerated trucks to help small and medium growers, said a SIFA a member involved in IFAB's creation.

According to a senior Apeda official, setting up AEZs for floriculture in Karnataka will cost Rs 29.28 crore, out of which Rs 11.71 crore will come from central government agencies, Rs 7.37 crore from state government agencies and the remaining Rs 10.20 crore from the private sector.

There is an anticipated incremental export of around Rs 312 crore in the next five years and this would benefit around 1,000 farmers, apart from generating indirect employment in the region.

Currently, Karnataka occupies the top position in floriculture exports (cut flowers) from the country, with a share of nearly 60 per cent, followed by Pune and Chandigarh.