Nation becoming self-reliant in production of flowers

By Laxman Kafle

Kathmandu, Oct. 22: With the expansion of floriculture farming over the years, Nepal is becoming self-reliant in flowers. According to the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), about 90 per cent of the Nepali demand for flowers is met by domestic production.

Bishwamani Pokharel, general secretary of the FAN, said production of flowers in Nepal was enough to fulfill about 90 per cent of domestic demand. However, the remaining 10 per cent could not be produced due to lack of technology and land to produce hybrid seeds.

He said that achievement in the expansion of floriculture and its contribution to the national economy is appreciable.

It has been 25 years since commercial floriculture started in Nepal. The flower business, which started in 2011 B.S, has expanded to 48 districts by 2021/22.

About 700 people and organisations are engaged in flower business in Nepal. More than 42,000 people have benefited from flower cultivation in about 158 hectares of land, he informed.

"In Nepal, flowers are especially in high demand during Tihar. Since there is not much demand in the rest of the months and our market is small, the producers are more likely to incur losses," he said.

He informed that around 5 per cent of the total annual business of flowers is being done only in Tihar.

 “We estimate that around 2.35 million garlands, including 300,000 garlands of Makhamali, 2 million garlands of marigold and 50,000 garland of Makhamali are required in Thihar this year which is almost met from the domestic production,” he told The Rising Nepal.

According to him, the Association projected that there is no need to import more than 300,000 garlands from India for Tihar festival. 

"We estimate that there will be a turnover of Rs. 235 million worth of flowers during Tihar. This does not include the use of flowers produced by the villagers themselves for their own uses," he said.

He said that the demand for flowers will be high in urban areas, including Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara.

Garlands’ price to increase

According to him, consumers will have to pay a little more this year's festival than last year. The price of a marigold garland is Rs. 55-60 and Makhamali Rs. 40-45.

However, the price of Godabari is higher than marigold and Makhamali, he said, adding that the price of a garland of Godabari will be up to Rs. 800.

The price of a garland of marigold was Rs. 50-55 last year.

There is no fixed and same price 

of flowers in the market as farmers arriving from various parts of the country used to sell flowers themselves with the mutual understanding between buyers and sellers, he said.

He said that the Association would intervene in the market to control artificial price hike and not allow import of unnecessary flowers from India to ensure the market for Nepali farmers.

 “We already informed the government that there is no need to import more than 300,000 this year and asked to restrict the import of more than 300,000 garlands," he said.

He said that Nepali flower entrepreneurs would face a loss if the country encouraged the import of flowers including garland from India.

In the year 2020/21, due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the transactions of flowers decreased to Rs. 1.63 billion.

However, there has been an improvement in marketing compared to the previous year's annual turnover, which has increased by about 30 per cent and the turnover was around Rs. 2.32 billion in last fiscal year, he said.

In the year 2021/22, flowers worth Rs. 10 million were exported while that worth Rs. 380 million was imported.

Monitoring the sale of plastic flowers

In the meantime, the government has started monitoring the sale of plastic flowers aiming to control their production, import and consumption.

Earlier, the government had banned the production, import, sale, distribution and storage of flowers and garlands made of plastic.

The government has said that action will be taken against those involved in selling plastic flowers and garlands during Tihar and Chhath festivals.

The Ministry of Forests and Environment in a notice warned of taking action against those selling plastic flowers and garlands in the festivals of Tihar and Chhath.