Kathmandu, November 2

Flower imports went up this Tihar festival against the expectations of flower traders in the country.

The Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN) had earlier said that only 250,000 garlands of flowers would be imported from India for Tihar. However, during the Tihar week a total of 500,000 garlands of flowers were imported this year against only 300,000 garlands of flowers imported for the festival last year.

“The actual number of flowers imported from India may actually be higher because a large quantity of flowers were imported illegally,” said Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, president of FAN.

According to Shrestha, flower imports increased this year due to seasonal traders. Seasonal traders are those who sell flowers only during the festivals.

“Such traders import flowers from India as they do not have contact with the local farmers,” he explained.

Shrestha further claimed that the local commercial farmers struggled to sell their products this festival due to the imported flowers. “As the market was flooded with illegally imported flowers, which were cheaper compared to the locally produced and legally imported flowers, the commercial flower traders were unable to enjoy brisk business as in previous years.”

Stating that the association had repeatedly tried to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the large quantities of flowers being imported illegally this year, he alleged that the complaints however fell on deaf ears. “The government is not very serious about the concerns of flower farmers, as flower farming is still considered as a small business in the country.”

As per the FAN, flower transaction reached Rs 150 million during the five days of Tihar festival. Last year, the flower transaction had stood at Rs 110 million during Tihar. On normal days, the daily demand in the country stands at around 20,000 flower garlands.

Currently, commercial flower farming is being carried out on over 157 hectares of land in 43 districts with the involvement of around 700 flower farmers. Around 43,500 people across the country are employed directly or indirectly in this field at the moment.