Kathmandu, April 9:

Floriculture is no more a leisure pursuit, as it has become a lucrative business with people’s changing lifestyle and growing demands for various occasions.

Cultivation of flowers or any kind of ornamental plants till a decade back was limited to personal pleasure and was not foreseen as a potential industry or business. Till five years ago, Ne-pal was a net importer of many types of flowers and floriculture products but the scenario has significantly changed with the increase in domestic market and commercial production.

According to Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), the volume of floriculture business in Nepal is growing at the rate of 10-15 per cent a year. The commercial floriculture has now been expanded to more than 34 districts with over 550 nurseries covering 80 hectare of land. Today, the sector alone employs more than 2500 people with more than 60 per cent women employee.

The total annual sales volume of floriculture and related business has already crossed Rs 230 million from a mere Rs 50-60 million a decade ago. Of the total business, export of floriculture and related products constitute more than Rs 32.6 million, which is growing rapidly for the last couple of years.

Nepal exported floral products worth Rs 32.63 million in 2005-06, registering a huge growth of about 100 per cent against the export of Rs 16.52 million in 2004-05. Nepal had exported floral products worth Rs 11.20 million in 2003-04.

Lok Nath Gaire, vice-president, FAN, presented some interesting facts about floriculture cultivation and business in Nepal. “Till five years ago, Nepal used to import 80 to 90 per cent of total cut-flowers consumed in domestic market. But the scenario has completely changed today, as the domestic production has already substituted imports,” he said. If the number of people thronging to the ongoing Floriculture Trade Expo-2007 is any indication, the floriculture business is certain in a bloom. According to Gaire, over 20,000 visitors visited the five-day long fair at Bhrikutimandap Exhibition Hall that generated over six billion rupees.

The sector has grown strength to strength over the years, as it has already fetched investment over Rs 375 million in infrastructure and planting materials, says Arun Chhetri, general secretary, FAN. Although Nepal started exporting floral products just a few years back, its reach has gone up from India to USA, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Australia, Taiwan, Italy, Germany and some of the Gulf countries. However, the exporting items are limited such as bulbs, tissue culture plants, cut flowers and ornamental plants.

“The prospect of floriculture in Nepal is very bright. The rap-idly growing number of nurser-ies and farmers changing their farmlands into commercial flo-wer gardens are some of the evide-nt,” says Gaire. “The government support on technical kno-w-how and market promotion as well as infrastructure development will be essential.”