Roses from Bengaluru, Pune fill love in city's air

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 14

As youngsters in the city play cupid on Valentines, it is rose cultivators from Bengaluru and Pune that are cashing in on the demand. To cater to the demand, retailers in the city imported hybrid red roses from these two cities.

These cities are among lead players in India’s cut flower industry. Cut roses easily remain fresh in the wrap for a fortnight.

Roses from these cities reach Delhi through air cargo and then transported to the northern region, including the city, by train or local transport.

“We import red roses through wholesalers who further get the same imported from cities such as Bengaluru and Pune,” said Gurpreet S Virdi of Fern-N-Petals.

Echoing similar sentiments, Anil Bhatia, owner, Khoobsurt Florist, said: “Bulk of our purchases is from Bengaluru and Pune. At times, we also procure from Himachal Pradesh. However, the landing cost of red roses is higher than the southern part.” In Himachal Pradesh, roses are grown in green houses.

According to retailers, during this month rose stem prices went up by 150 per cent and peaked at Rs 16 in wholesale markets from the earlier average of Rs 5 to Rs 7.

On being asked about the landing price of red roses for retailers, he said: “On normal days, it costs anywhere between Rs 100-Rs 150 per bunch (one bunch has 20 flowers). While during the month of February, it hovers between Rs 250 and Rs 350 for a bundle, especially because of Rose Day and Valentine’s Day.”

According to growers, flowers this year have been of a good quality, given good rains and climatic conditions.

According to rough estimates, Valentine’s Day alone contributes 25-40 per cent of flower growers’ annual revenue. A senior official in Karutri Global said: “This year is being pretty good for growers and hope farmers will make money unlike last year when they faced drought.”

Karuturi Global is a world leader in production of cut roses with operations spread across Ethiopia, Kenya and India. Hosur, Bengaluru, Pune and parts of Gujarat are hub for flower cultivation.

On an average, rose growers in India earn a minimum of Rs 10 lakh per acre. Most roses grown in Bengaluru are auctioned at International Flower Auction Bangalore (IFAB), where the auction facilities are in line with those in Holland and Japan to ensure a better price.