Exports dip, but local demand spurs sale of roses this Valentine's Day

Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, rose farmers are looking up to Valentine’s Day to make up for lost business.

While exports remain subdued due to restrictions on international cargo, domestic sales have picked up after the government eased Covid-19 restrictions. And the Valentine’s Day is expected to further boost the sale of roses, the eternal symbol of love.

Roses grown in Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur and other surrounding districts are in high demand in India as well as abroad. Last year, the Centre had facilitated the export of five lakh stems on a single day. Before the pandemic, more than five crore rose stems worth nearly Rs 20 crore were exported to Europe, West Asia, South East Asia and the US through the International Flower Auction Bangalore (IFAB), a company that auctions cut-flowers of various flowers crops from five districts.

“Arab and European countries have been the largest buyers of our roses. But due to the Covid rules, international flights have been cancelled and the cost of cargo has also gone up considerably. This has affected our exports this year,” said M Vishwanath, Managing Director, IFAB.

The flower export market was its lowest for six months after the start of the pandemic as people were wary of touching objects, according to a flower exporter at the IFAB.

Floriculturists in Bengaluru Rural and Chikkaballapura districts not only abandoned rose farming but many even used their polyhouses to grow vegetables to make ends meet. Compounding the problem was the cold wave that affected the standing crops in the last few months, according to an official.

Things began to change when the government started easing the Covid rules. Still, the cap on the number of guests at celebratory events such as weddings meant that the sales remained subdued.

The demand started to pick up after November and there hasn’t been looking back since. In fact, during November and December, a stem of rose retailed for as high as Rs 31, said an exporter from Doddaballapura, Bengaluru Rural.

Floriculturists from Bengaluru and the surrounding districts are reporting a steady demand from Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and other metros. Notwithstanding the restrictions on exports, the prices are set to rise in the coming week due to Valentine’s Day, Vishwanath explained.

A rose stem is usually exported for Rs 20 to Rs 25 while the local price ranges from Rs 5 to Rs 15. Last year, the demand was so high that each stem was sold for Rs 20 to Rs 30, an official said.