This Valentine’s Day, Europe will woo its loved ones with Indian roses. As Kenyan roses wither under political uncertainty, the Indian floriculture sector will bloom in the European markets.
With European customers plucking Indian roses in the wake of a thorny unrest in Kenya, Indian traders see a 50% rise in exports in the week to Valentine’s Day, February 3-10, from 10 million rose stems last year to 15 million stems.
?European countries, including the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, are likely to procure 5 million stems from India, up from 2.5 million last year,? said South Indian Floriculture Association president and MNA Flora Ltd CEO Nadeem Ahmed. Kenya is a world major in rose cultivation with nearly 4,000 hectares under ?weather-controlled cultivation? against India?s 400 hectares.
The Kenyan misfortune has another lucky spin-off for Indian exporters: better prices. The average price for Indian roses has gone up to Rs 14 per stem from Rs 10 in the last season, while premium stems, with 80 mm length, carry a price tag of Rs 14-18. Kenya apart, the growing labour crunch in Europe has also benefited the Indian floriculture sector.
MNA Flora?s order book has doubled to 3 million roses while another cut rose player, Tanflora, expected exports to touch 2-3 million roses this season from one million last year. Last year, India exported roses worth Rs 100 crore, with Japan buying up a quarter of them. Europe bought another 25%, with Australia, Singapore, Middle East, Malaysia and others making up the rest.
