Blooming Indian firms to acquire rose farms in Africa, Latam

Bangalore, Feb 20 (UNI) Sensing great opportunities beckoning them in the blooming 80 billion US Dollar global flower market, Indian companies involved in growing and exporting roses have gone on the fast track to acquire farms in African and Latin American countries.

Of the 80 billion Dollar global flower market, the major chunk is contributed by roses, accounting for 60 billion Dollars. Despite having great potential, India accounts for just one per cent of global exports. To enhance India's share in the burgeoning market, Indian flower manufacturers and exporters, hit hard by increasing transport costs and the menace of spurious farm inputs, are looking to acquire rose farms overseas.

Developing countries in Africa and Latin America come through as the best option for the Indian firms as they offer good climate, cheap farmland cost, labour and advantages in trading with the US and the EU, the primary markets for roses in the world. African countries need not pay any duty for exporting roses to Europe, while Indian exporters have to pay ten per cent levy. Latin American countries have the advantage of FTA.

Explaining the move, former South India Floriculturists' Association President Ramakrishna Karuturi, whose Karuturi Networks is one among the top five rose exporters in the world, told UNI here that it would be more profitable to export roses from Africa or Latin America.

''We are looking for acquisitions in these two places as it costs much less both to produce and export. We are in talks with a Dutch firm, which owns a large tract of land in Kenya. The deal is yet to fructify. We will soon be in Kenya. We are also talking with some other US and Europe-based owners who own farms in Kenya, Ethiopia, Equador and Colombia. I would like to do this in India. But due to high fuel costs, it costs 40 per cent more for us to transport flowers, compared to Africa or Latam countries, I am looking elsewhere,'' he says.

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