KATHMANDU: Samriddhi Tamang, who is engaged in the floriculture business for the past 13 years, has observed a surge in demand for flowers during the Tihar festival.
“The demand for flowers drops during the main production season. The government should consider creating a separate market for flower traders,” suggested Tamang. “Nepal holds immense potential in the floriculture business, and we can also export flowers. However, due to the lack of technology in Nepal, we have not been able to produce as many flowers.”
Many floriculture entrepreneurs like Tamang are participating in the Tihar Flower Expo, which began at Bhrikuti Mandap Exhibition Hall on Tuesday.
Tamang, who hails from Bara district, is expecting transactions of around Rs 400,000 during the expo. Her entire family is involved in the business, and she has employed two more people to support her.
Rabindra KC, the marketing manager of Gautam Nursery, claims that Nepal is self-sufficient in flowers. He pointed out that although there is potential in the floriculture sector, they have been unable to meet the market demand. “We have an illusion that flowers are only needed during Tihar, but the truth is that flowers are always in demand,” he said. “Nepal is self-reliant in flowers, but the government has not been able to reduce imports. Some traders are also exporting flowers.”
KC expects sales of around Rs 1 million during the expo. Gautam Nursery has provided employment to three people.
Sunita Pradhan was busy selecting decorative flowers at the expo. “I didn’t realize that Nepal is this good in floriculture. Instead of buying imported flowers, we should prefer locally grown flowers. We need flowers throughout the year; it’s not just during the Tihar festival,” she added.
Ramji Prasad Timilsina, president of the Nursery Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal, stated that local production can meet 90% of the market demand. “The shortfall is met through imports. The demand for marigolds increases significantly during the three days of the year. This flower is not much in demand during the rest of the year,” he added.
Timilsina said that there still is a need to import flowers to meet festive demands in urban areas. “Rural markets are self-reliant; we can eliminate imports altogether if we can bring flowers from rural areas to urban markets,” he added.
Flower farming is done in 2,021 hectares in 48 districts of Nepal. There are more than 1,000 commercial farmers in the country and the sector has provided direct or indirect employment to 44,000 people.
The expo features over 100 varieties of flowers.
