Lilium growers gear up for high season

[rgiridhar]

Lilium growers gear up for high season
Hindu BusinessLine 20-May-08


Nilgiri floriculturists will commence fresh planting of lilium this month-end to earn the maximum possible from the high-market season commencing September.

“Lilium has round-the-year market unlike wedding seasonal flowers, but the high-market season commences in September and peaks from December to February. It takes three months for the flowers to be ready for harvest and, hence, progressive growers planning for high-season business are now preparing to stock the imported bulbs which they will plant end-May and June.
Already, bulb-containers have started moving from the Netherlands. In 2008, India is expected to import 70 containers of 1.5 to 2 lakh bulbs a container from different suppliers against 50 containers last year,” Dr K. Valliappan, President (Agro Division), Eureka Group, representative of Dutch flower-bulb major VWS, told Business Line.

High investment cost
Dr Valliappan, along with Mr Arjun, Chairman of Eureka group, has surveyed the growers’ requirement in Nilgiris. “Cold storages are being readied to receive the fresh bulbs. LCs for imports had been opened last month. Since import requires the blocking of Rs 15 lakh-20 lakh a consignment and three consignments a year are required for an acre, the investment cost is high for the growers.
Also, cold storage of minus 1.5 degrees Celsius is required. Small growers use traders’ services for import and stocking. They get legally valid quarantine-cleared bulbs from importers holding licences under the Plant Quarantine Act,” Mr Arjun said.

Price range
Currently, oriental lilium fetches Rs 35 a stem and Asiatic Rs 22. A fortnight ago, the price of oriental lilum rose to Rs 48 due to festival demand.

“The average price is Rs 18 to 20 for Asiatic and Rs 30 to 35 for oriental. Ordinarily, growers get a net profit of Rs 2 a stem. In an acre, growers earn a profit of Rs 4 lakh in a season of three months. They normally go for two crops a year. With about three lakh Chinese lilium stems being imported annually, there is bright scope to augment production,” Dr Valliappan explained.

VWS Flowerbulbs has taken up trial cultivation of lilium at Srinagar to reduce the cost and time-lag in the import of bulbs from the Netherlands.

[rgiridhar]

Lilium growers seek assured market

HinduBusiness Line Dec 16, 2007

Lilium growers in the Nilgiris have called for creating the right ambience for an assured market for their flowers.

“In the last couple of years, more farmers have taken up lilium cultivation in the Nilgiris. Some more are also in the list. But, we need an assured market. The competition is not among ourselves, but it exists outside India. We need advantageous marketing strategies including staggering the supplies to avoid flooding the market. No one gains by exploiting the growers”, Dr S. Ramu, Executive Director of Hill Queen Agritech (hillqueen@dataone.in), told Business Line.

He said that farmers are looking for some buy-back arrangement, particularly in the context of suppliers of planting materials showing interest to strengthen their business in the Nilgiris. “If bulb suppliers are interested only in selling the raw materials, farmers would not be able to support them for long”, he cautioned.
Supply of bulbs

“Our supply of Lilium bulbs to the Nilgiris has doubled this year. We are encouraging the farmers to consolidate themselves into associations to share their skill and knowledge and evolve a region-wise package of cultural practices covering poly houses, configuration, suitable varieties, media composition, production planning, cold storage, fertigation schedules and plant protection measures”, said Dr K. Valliappan, President of the Agro Division of Eureka Trading Co,
(vallie@123india.com) who supplies bulbs imported from VWS Export-Import of flower bulbs, The Netherlands (Bulbs from VWS :: All over the World Export and Import of Flowerbulbs).

India needs some four million bulbs, but the quality ones are imported. Holland is the main source of supply. “We are, therefore, exploring the possibility of bringing in the Holland expertise to India and produce the bulbs here itself so that import could be minimised. An initial project has started in collaboration with Jammu and Kashmir Government. This can help our growers cut their project cost. If we succeed, we can export the bulbs over the years. Some South-East Asian countries are showing interest to buy this”, Dr Valliappan explained.

Techniques
Mr M. Arjun, Chairman, Eureka Group, said that his technical team would visit the farmers periodically to help them tone up their cultivation and post-harvest techniques. “Lilies, both Asiatic and oriental, are grouped under high-value flowers in the global floriculture commerce. They are fast emerging as the largest income contributor. So, increasing the market avenues in India and abroad will avoid unusual dumping at festive occasions”, he said.

Visiting Dutch floriculture expert Ing. John Brass of VWS (mail@vws-flowerbulbs.nl) said that the growth of lilium cultivation is the Nilgiris is far higher than in other parts of the country. “We see a high demand for the bulbs from Holland. We have assured the farmers to stay with them through their process of growing, render the necessary technical guidance and help them to grow those flowers which are marketable. The marketability of lilum depends on the colours of the flowers, the length of the stem and the health of the flowers and so, our involvement with you can be market-oriented material supply to ease your marketing burden”, he said.