Flower imports went up this Tihar festival against the expectations of flower traders in Nepal.
The Floriculture Association Nepal (FAN) had earlier said that only 250,000 garlands of flowers would be imported from India for Tihar. However, during the Tihar week, a total of 500,000 garlands of flowers were imported this year against only 300,000 garlands of flowers imported for the festival last year.
According to Shrestha, flower imports increased this year due to seasonal traders. Shrestha further claimed that the local commercial farmers struggled to sell their products this festival due to the imported flowers. “As the market was flooded with illegally imported flowers, which were cheaper compared to the locally produced and legally imported flowers, the commercial flower traders were unable to enjoy brisk business as in previous years.”
Stating that the association had repeatedly tried to draw the attention of the concerned authorities to the large quantities of flowers being imported illegally this year, he alleged that the complaints, however, fell on deaf ears. “The government is not very serious about the concerns of flower farmers, as flower farming is still considered as a small business in the country.”