Rising freight rates & input cost wilt rose exports
Higher freight charges, rising cost of production and the emergence of Ethiopia and Kenya as major flower exporters are making rose exports an unviable proposition.
According to traders, while the realisation price for exporters varies from Rs 6.50 per stem to Rs 7.50, for farmers it ranges from Rs 2 to Rs 4 per stem in the domestic market.
"There are risk factors like the perishable nature of roses, lack of proper guarantee, currency risk and demand volatility," Mr G. Shanker Murthy, General Manager of International Flower Auction Bangalore (IFAB), pointed out.
IFAB is one of the electronic flower auction centres in the country which provides assistance to growers for exports.
The country produces 340 million cut roses per annum, of which 70 per cent come from Karnataka.
The rest is produced in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and in sporadic patches elsewhere.
"Though Karnataka, especially Bangalore, is geographically best suited to emerge as the export hub for cut roses, we have lost the competitive advantage to emerging exporters like Kenya, Ethiopia, etc," Mr R. D. Reddy, President of South India Floriculture Association (Sifa), said.
According to data released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), flower exports have fallen to Rs 293.97 crore in 2009-10 from the Rs 566 crore level in 2006-07, a 48 per cent drop in the last four years.
Fresh cut flower category, 90 per cent of which comes from cut roses, also registered a decline of 12 per cent to Rs 42.68 crore in 2008-09 from Rs 48.75 crore in 2007-08.
"The fall in rose exports will be offset by domestic demand, which is growing at a healthy 10 per cent rate in the last few years," Mr Reddy hoped.
Source : Exim News Service - Bangalore, Sept. 8
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