Rose exports bloom as Valetine's Day looms

This is a Valentine's Day special, even the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray won't object to! Maharashtra's humble farmers are set to despatch a bouquet of 70 lakh plus red roses to meet the cupid day requirements of Europe and rake in foreign exchange.

Confirming the high export of roses to Europe (pre-dominantly to Holland) from the state to meet the Valentine's day demand in Europe, director (marketing) of the Maharashtra Agricultural Marketing Board (AMMB) Ram Kharche said that compared to flower exports last year this year has evidenced a sharp increase.

"All kinds of flowers like carnations, lilies, zerberas and anthuriums are exported each year. But roses are the main component of exports to Europe. In the coming years this is set to grow further with the state government having demarcated a 250 hectare of land in Talegaon (Pune) for horticulture. Already 70 entrepreneurs have been identified and next year will witness larger exports," Kharche added.

One of the 20 large exporters of what has come to become cupids floral insignia (read the red rose) Aurn Shroff, executive director of Deccan Florabase Ltd said: "When it comes to meeting the Valentine's Day demand in Europe Bangalore is probably ahead of Maharashtra in terms of quantities of flowers exported for this occasion. However, if the year-long quantities of flowers exported out of India to Europe is taken into account then Maharashtra is numero uno."

He added that there has been a constant effort on the part of the state government to strengthen horticulture that has resulted in even small farmers today practising green house cultivation, that provides the floral product that is popular in European countries like Holland.

"Moreover, steps taken by the state government have ensured the elimination of middlemen from the trade which has additionally benefitted small farmers who get a proper price for their floral produce," Shroff added.

Kharche is in total agreement. "AMMB as been also facilitating tie-ups between cooperatives of small farmers with international importers of flowers from Singapore and Holland. Only recently a few such tie-ups benefitted some cooperatives in the state," he said.

An flower auction house proposed to be set up in Mumbai city suburb Goregaon on a 12 acre plot of land for which an Agricultural Produce Export Development Authority (APEDA) grant has already been received will also go a long way in facilitating higher imports from the state to European destinations.

Last year a tie-up with the government of the Netherlands that included a Rs 4 crore grant from that government saw the setting up of a training centre in the state that teaches protective agriculture (greenhouse farming) at Telegaon where international scientists helped impart horticultural education.

Already 250 trained farmers have learnt the art of growing internationally accepted flowers here. The best part of the training has been its state no bar policy.

These trained farmers who graduated from the training institute at Talegaon hail, apart from Maharashtra, from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other states in India.