Roses, too, smell slowdown: Unpredictable weather results in 60% lower production

Unpredictable weather this year has been a thorn in the side, nipping away at India’s budding high-value floriculture businesses.

Erratic rainfall has sprung a thorny problem for rose growers across the country. While the rose gardens of outer Bengaluru have begun to wilt due to dry climes, the flower farms on the Deccan plateau are battling out excessive rains and low sunlight. The production of roses — the king of flowers — has slid by at least 60 per cent, squarely impacting the schedules of major flower exporters.

“We’re not able to fulfil export orders due to low production,” says Narendra Patil, vice-president of Soex Flora. “The Maval region near Pune is a prominent rose-growing belt in India. Excessive rains have hampered production. Stem growth has become weak and bud quality is also down,” he says.


“Flower imports to the UK from India have declined by a good measure since August,” says Hariharan Subramanian, founder of UK-based Indifresh, a floriculture product importing company.

Growth opportunity at risk Indian farm owners specialise in highvalue ‘cut flowers’ (flowers cut with long stems) such as different varieties of roses, carnations, gladiolus, orchids, gerbera and tuberoses for meeting export demand. ‘Loose flowers’ (usually harvested without a stalk) such as marigolds, jasmine, crossandra, and gaillardia are grown to be sold in local markets.



The Indian flower market is growing at 23 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) every year, say researchers at the Indian Society of Floriculture Professionals (ISFP), a Pune-based flower growers’ group. The country has exported 19726.57 metric tonnes of floriculture products, worth `571.38 crore in 2018-19.

“If rains continue till October, we may see a decline in flower production,” says Praveen Sharma of ISFP.

Artificial is a natural enemy
If crops fail to take off over the next two months, artificial flower manufacturers and sellers may see a great run in the coming months. Over the past four years, India has been receiving ship-loads of artificial flowers from China — up from Rs 66 crore worth of imports in 2016 to Rs 137 crore in 2018.

“Flower decorators now use artificial flowers rampantly. They look fresh, and are more affordable than real flowers,” says Sharma.

“The impact of these artificial flowers on the environment is drastic. If artificial flowers continue to come in, the domestic flower market would be severely impacted,” he adds.

Keeping count of roses
• India exported rose stems worth Rs 57.46 crore in 2018.
• 60 per cent decline in rose production last three months.
• In 2018-19, IFAB auctioned 7.74 crore rose stems.
• UK receives over one lakh Indian rose stems every week between October and May.
• Ideal climate for roses: Sunny day. Day temp at 26 degrees and night temp at 15 degrees.