Rose export market gives good returns to growers ahead of Valentine’s Day

PUNE: Florists seem to be the busiest people today. As India starts shipping roses this weekend for Valentine’s Day, rose growers are happy, as the prices have hardly dipped over the last three years due to the growing love of Indians as well as foreigners for Indian roses.

The export of roses for Valentine’s Day usually takes place between January 25 and February 10. Pune and Bangalore ship a few crore stems to Europe, Japan and other countries annually. According to statistics with Agricultural and Process Food Export Development Authority ( APEDA), flower exports are growing at over 15 per cent per annum. However, it is not just the export market that gives rosy returns to growers.

Indians, especially big and small corporates, have developed a love for roses. “Many small companies have come up near Bhopal in the last five years, which regularly use roses and other flowers. The use of bouquets at meetings and during welcome or farewell functions have become common,” said wholesaler Rakesh Asini of Ashok Flower Merchants, who has increased his purchase of roses from Pune by at least 50 per cent over the last few years.


Pandit Shikare, an agricultural graduate and owner of Rujul Agro located at Talegaon near Pune, is a farmer-exporter. “Giving bouquets has become common today and roses form its main component. There is so much demand for roses that sometimes it leads to shortage. The domestic market demand is also growing consistently.

“Rose prices never came down in 2013,” said Shikare. The average rose price received by grower-exporters during the Valentine’s Day week is aboutRs 10/stem. Love for roses is not restricted to only the big cities. “I have customers from smaller towns and even villages, who are ready to spend Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for roses during weddings,” said Shikare.

Red roses are most in demand during the Valentine’s Day week and their price depends upon the length of the stem -- the longer the stem, the higher its price.

Due to the promising returns, protected rose cultivation has been increasing rapidly in areas around Pune, Satara, Kolhapur and Nashik. Kolhapur-based Shrivardhan Biotech has started preparations from December for producing about 18 lakh stems of roses for the Valentine day’s week.