By james art By Lakshmi Sapkota, Kathmandu, October 22: An estimated 4.5 million colorful garlands will be used for the upcoming Tihar, the festival of light.
The Florists Association of Nepal (FAN), an umbrella organization of florist entrepreneurs, has predicted that a total of 380,000 garlands of Globosa Amaranthus (makhamali) and 450,000 garlands of chrysanthemums (godawari) will be consumed in this Tihar.
60 percent of flower garlands are used in Kathmandu Valley while 40 percent of flower garlands are used outside the valley.
FAN president Min Bahadur Tamang said 60 percent of the total demand will be met by domestic production and the remaining 40 percent will be imported. The demand for flower garlands continues to grow by 10 percent every year.
Although flower entrepreneurs meet 90 percent of the country’s flower demand, imports become necessary during Tihar as demand increases significantly during Tihar.
According to flower entrepreneurs, the cost of a garland of flowers is between Rs 80 and Rs 100.
More than 200,000 flower garlands are imported to Nepal from countries like England, United States of America and Australia.
According to the Nepal Florist Association, the flower business is carried out in 52 districts of the country in an area of 260 hectares. Similarly, there are 1,174 nurseries operating across the country. 51,000 were employed in floriculture business worth an investment of Rs.8,830,000,000.
According to the Ministry of Customs, during the fiscal year 2080/81, non-ferrous material worth Rs.1,02,000,000 was exported and non-ferrous material worth Rs.277,900,000 was imported.
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