Pakistan is being increasingly viewed as a growing market for floral products, particularly of cut flowers and tulips, and is offering a slew of opportunities to businesses to flourish rapidly, particularly in central Punjab.
If commercial flower business is undertaken on a wider scale, it has the potential to expand exponentially, say experts. There is a huge demand for cut flowers, especially roses and tulips, and net profit on investment is much higher in floriculture crops compared to other crops.
Roses are seen as one of the leading cut flowers in domestic and global floriculture trade. Since the last decade, cut flower demand and markets have grown significantly.
“Growing roses on a commercial basis can be termed a lucrative business and offers high returns as compared any other agricultural crop,” an expert said.
Compared to other provinces, floriculture is a booming business in Punjab. Pattoki is the major production and marketing centre in the country. There is a potential for the planting of cut flowers on a commercial scale because of favourable soil and climatic conditions.
In recent years, flower production has increased in Kasur, Sheikhupura, Chunian, Okara, Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Gujranwala.
Over hundred varieties of flowers are being produced in these cities; the most prominent are carnations, jasmine, tulips, poppies and roses in dozens of colours, but exports are negligible, they say.
“By growing cut flowers, we can do a good job because flower plants give more production but they are more labour-intensive,” said Shahid Mumtaz, an expert in floral products. “Flowers have to be plucked every day, requiring more workers.”
The floriculture sector has its challenges as well including lack of standardised production techniques, dearth of modern machinery and lack of professional education for growers.
A major impediment to the sector’s growth was the lack of enthusiasm among big farmers to enter the field, Mumtaz said.
However, now many new investors have entered the fray and are making hefty profits. They have established their own greenhouses for production and shielding flowers from the impact of weather vagaries.
Market players have the potential to export cut flowers, but they need infrastructural support from the government. Cut flowers can be exported to the world’s largest importers of fresh flowers such as the United Kingdom, the US, France, Germany, Russia and Italy.
“The largest exporters of cut flowers are the Netherlands, Colombia, Kenya and Belgium and Pakistan can be part of this list with government’s backing,” suggested Ajmal Ali, a grower from Pattoki.
He added the government should provide latest equipment on lease and easy credit to the growers in order to help enhance exports.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2014.
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