October 18: Targeting the Tihar festival, around 300,000 garlands have been imported to Nepal from India. According to the Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN), marigold garlands worth Rs 12 million have been imported for the festival.

Kumar Kasaju Shrestha, president of FAN, said that the flowers were imported for Tihar as the required quantity could not be produced within the country.

“Last year, only 200,000 garlands were imported. However, the import has increased this year as the demand for marigold garland is high,” he said.

FAN informed that despite the increase in import, the price is cheap this year. Last year, around  200,000 garlands worth Rs 15 million had been imported from India.

Nepal imports flowers from India during other times of the year as well. Different flowers and garlands worth Rs 100 million are imported from India annually, according to Shrestha.

The inability to produce flowers in Nepal as per the demand is the reason why Nepal imports flowers of such huge quantity every year. “Local floriculturists produce flowers all the year round,” Shrestha told New Business Age, adding, “But the consumption is very less in other times except during festivals like Tihar.”

Fearing loss during off-season, they produce less quantity of flowers. He said very few garlands are consumed in normal days.

The demand for flowers has gone up by 36.36 percent in comparison to last year, FAN stated.

There is a demand for 100,000 pieces of chrysanthemum, 300,000 globe amaranth and 1.1 million marigold in the market for Tihar festival. According to FAN, though the country is self-sufficient in chrysanthemum and globe amaranth flowers, marigold has to be imported from India.