Lilly Growers Face Glut, Price Crash

[rgiridhar]

Hindu Business Line, April 20, 2008

With more and more areas coming under lilium cultivation in the Nilgiris without matching marketing support, growers are complaining of glut-induced price crash.

“Farmers entering into floriculture or those expanding their areas should select their crops wisely and not allow to be led away by the sweet talk of agents interested in selling their planting materials without looking into the farmers’ profitability. The market is facing a glut of unwanted flowers and colours, leading to a price crash. Export is taking place only at low prices”, said Mr D.V.M. Prem Kumar, President, Nilgiri Flower Growers’ Association (NFGA).
Peak and lean season

Presently, 50,000 stems of lilium are produced daily, but even during the peak market season, lasting for five months from October, the requirement is only 25,000-30,000 stems. In the current 7-month lean season, which began in March, the market requirement is only 5,000-10,000 stems, he said.

During the peak season, lilium fetches Rs 15-20 a stem, but now, the price has crashed to Rs 5-10 as there are no takers for the excess supplies, he added. But, the cost of each planting material – bulb – is Rs 11-13 and the cultivation, maintenance costs and administrative costs are to be added to arrive at total production cost.
Imports

As per the Plant Quarantine Act, lilium bulbs can be imported only by the actual growers and not traders. The green house of the farmers must be certified as quarantine area by the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. “But, traders are selling bulbs in the Nilgiris. If the growers don’t have quarantine certificate, they run the risk of their total crop being destroyed by the authorities”, Mr Prem Kumar said. He requested farmers to use drip irrigation and follow good agricultural practices.