Economic Survey recognizes Indian floriculture as ‘sunrise industry’

New Delhi: Floriculture has been flourishing in India, earning recognition as a “sunrise industry” due to its strong export potential, as per the Economic Survey 2024-25 report. Flower farming is now a highly profitable venture. Currently, flowers are being used on all occasions, such as marriages, parties, elections, and so on. In fact, the demand for flowers always remains high throughout the year.

The survey report unveiled that flower farming has been providing huge income to farmers compared to traditional crops. Flowers are being sold in different segments such as cut flowers, loose flowers, dry flowers, cut greens, potted plants, flower seeds, perfumes, bouquets, essential oils, and so on.

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The government has been giving subsidies for the growth of the floriculture sector, such as the establishment of polyhouses, drip irrigation facilities, and so on. Farmers are taking more interest in the growth of flowers due to high earnings compared to wheat, rice, or maize. Several states, like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra, have established advanced export-oriented floriculture units.

In FY24, the cultivation of flowers took place on 297,000 hectares of land, yielding an estimated 22.84 lakh tonnes of loose flowers and 9.47 lakh tonnes of cut flowers. Overall, India exported 19,678 metric tonnes of floriculture products, fetching Rs 717.83 crore ($86.63 million). India exports flower products to the USA, the Netherlands, UAE, UK, Canada, and Malaysia. With the increasing demand, Indian floriculture has been thriving in the global market.