Tamil Nadu rose exporters enjoying a boom during festive season

Hosur (Tamil Nadu), Dec 28 (ANI): Tanflora Infrastructure Park, one of the world's largest exporters of roses in Tamil Nadu, is all set to export millions of roses during the upcoming New Year festivities.

Tanflora, a joint venture floriculture project of the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and M. Naseem Ahmed and Associates (MNA), was established at Amudagondapally village, Hosur, in the Krishnagiri District of Tamil Nadu.

The project is one of the largest production facilities for cut roses in the world, with a total production capacity of 67.5 million roses per annum. This is India's first project in the agri-export industry for cut flowers.

Tanflora has a total production area of 54 hectares and the project is divided into 25 grower units of two hectares each. Officials say flowers are mostly exported to the Gulf countries.

The main markets for Indian flowers are Europe, Australia, the Middle East and Far East, Australia and Japan. Also, due to an increase in the domestic market, large quantities of flowers are retailed mainly in cities like Delhi, Hyderabad and Chennai.

"Farmers are encouraged to grow cut flowers like gerbera, carnations and roses. The gerbera is cultivated mainly in this district, which is unique, which has very good colours and size and also the length of life is very long here, so it gets a good price in the international market and is exported to the Gulf and other European countries," said Krishna Kumar, Assistant Director of Horticulture.

Venkatarajendra Reddy, Horticulture Officer said that about one million rupees are generated annually, which are further invested in the development of the project.

"For a 1,000-square-foot greenhouse, we grow about 6,000 plants, which will give about one lakh, twenty thousand flowers. Each flower will fetch an average of three rupees throughout the year. So that means on average, we can make up to ten lakh rupees in gross income," Reddy added.

Tanflora began exports in 2007 with a million rose stems, trebled that number in 2008, and exported five-seven million rose stems alone in the fortnight leading up to Valentine's Day in 2009.

The total exports this year have been around 30 million stems, and projected exports for 2010 are 70 million stems.

The project is also planning to increase the amount of planting material it exports and to manufacture readymade flower arrangements for direct marketing to retail chains. (ANI)