Love is in the air; roses court technology

Narayanan Madhavan

BANGALORE: For love and for money, flowers are a good business to be in India’s

budding floriculture companies, fledglings just six years ago when the nation had its

first flower auction, are eyeing a rosy future. And they have reasons to celebrate

Valentine’s Day this year despite a fall in prices caused by September 11 attacks, a

leading industry official said on Monday.

Volumes are significantly up, online auctions are giving the business a technological

edge, and the anti-Valentine protests of a right-wing Hindu leader are unwittingly aiding

the domestic market, Karuturi Ramakrishna, managing director of Karuturi Networks Ltd told

Reuters.

Last week, card shopowners in Mumbai said they planned to give the February 10-16 week

a new name "Prem Din Utsav" (Festival of Love) after right-wing Shiv Sena party

headed by Bal Thackeray opposed February 14 celebrations as "cultural

corruption".

"He’s bringing excitement to Valentine’s Day. He is breaking news for

us," said Ramakrishna, whose company exports flowers and also makes online auction

software.

Ramakrishna, who is an executive member of the South India Floriculture Association,

said Bangalore’s florists have multiplied to about 435 from a mere 15 around 1995.

"Today, in weddings most people prefer to carry a bouquet."

India’s flower exports, nearly all roses and 70 per cent of them grown in the

pleasant climes around the technology city of Bangalore, are set to touch 2,000 tonnes in

the year to March, up from about 1,500 tonnes in the previous year.

Valentine’s Day shipments are topping 400 tonnes this year, against 300 tonnes

last year.

However, export revenue is expected to be flat at Rs1.0 billion ($20.5 million) this

year, with net export prices having fallen to about Rs 10-14 per stem from Rs 15-20 last

year, Ramakrishna said.

The business, however, is looking up as a whole, and a domestic market of about Rs 4.0

billion has been created in the past few years, thanks to growing consumerism and economic

growth, which have made bouquets more fashionable.

Cargo gains

India, which began a liberalization program in 1991, started a state-initiated drive

into floriculture exports two years later. Ramakrishna said in 1995, when the first

auction was conducted, India exported only 150 tonnes of flowers.

Air France and Kuwait Airways Corp had three cargo flights from Bangalore between them

then, while Lufthansa alone now has four freight flights and three passenger flights with

cargo space per week.

Air Lanka and Singapore Airlines also run two cargo flights a week. Exporters also use

freight charters and other passenger flights with cargo capabilities.

"Logistically we have come a long way," Ramakrishna said. He said the boom

was aided by an expanding economy, initiatives by the Agricultural Products Export

Development Authority -- which opened a marketing office in the Netherlands last year --

and the rise of green houses aided by low-cost civil engineers.

Karuturi Networks also runs an online auction site ( SIZE="2">www.rosebazar.com ) with proprietary software. The site has developed

a price index for roses and sends out data by messages to about 5,000 mobile phone users

every day.

The share of European buyers in exports has come down to 40 per cent from 100 per cent

when the exports set off, and new markets include the Middle East, Singapore and Malaysia,

he said.