Bengaluru’s ‘Taj Mahal’ will again be part of this Valentine’s Day flavour across the globe as nearly five million of this red rose variety, grown in fields in and around the city, is being shipped from here.
While Bengaluru growers exported just over 4.5 million roses in the fortnight before the Valentine’s Day last year, the exports could touch about 5 million this year, general manager of International Flower Auction Board, Bengaluru, Vijay Kulkarni, told The Hindu .
“We are expecting about 8% increase in exports this year,” he added.
This year, the ‘Taj Mahal’ variety has been produced much more than the earlier popular variety ‘First Red’, sources said.
Bengaluru and Pune are the largest exporters of red roses from India during Valentine’s Day, and Bengaluru contributes about 60% of the exports, industry sources said. Roses from here are being airlifted to Malayasia, Singapore, West Asian countries, Australia, New Zealand, and several European countries.
While the average price for a rose stem hovers between ₹5 and ₹6 during normal days, it is expected to double over the next couple of days.
Bridging the shortfall
“Taj Mahal has larger bud and longer shelf life than other red rose varieties cultivated here. In fact, this year Taj Mahal will be accounting for about 95% of the exports while the First Red variety will account for a small portion,” said general secretary of the South India Floriculture Association Jayaprakash Rao. He said Kenya and Ethiopia are the largest suppliers of roses, and the Indian roses only bridge the shortfall, which explains a modest year-on-year growth in exports.
The IFAB, which is the largest flower auction house in the country, handling about 1.5 lakh roses daily, has been handling nearly 5 lakh roses every day during this season that is expected to last till February 11.
