Mirik orchids - First lot of Mirik orchids finds takers in six cities

Siliguri, March 12.TT: The first batch of cymbidiums, known as the queen of orchids, that grew in Mirik as part of a large-scale flower production project has been sold in six cities across the country.

The export-oriented project that is the biggest venture of orchid cultivation in the northeastern part of India was initiated by the Darjeeling Gardens Private Limited, a Siliguri-based private firm.

“We had set a target of planting one lakh saplings in early 2009. We planted the saplings in lots of 10,000 to 15,000 every three to four months and the process was completed a year ago. The first lot of around 6,000 (sticks of) orchids has bloomed and we have harvested it early this year. This is the biggest venture of orchids in the Northeast,” said Rajesh Choudhury, the director of Darjeeling Gardens.

He said each stick of cymbidium fetched between Rs 120 and Rs 150 in flower auction centres and markets across the cities. In the international market, each stick fetches Rs 300-Rs 500.

The project was taken up on a two-acre plot at Rato Mate busty in Mirik, 52km from here.

Cymbidium that is considered best among orchids because of its ability to survive in very cold condition and a long vase life of about four weeks comes in a variety of colours like pink, red, green, brown and yellow.

“Mirik was chosen as the ideal location because of its climatic suitability for growing cymbidiums that require low temperature and high humidity. It is rare to find this combination anywhere (else) in the country. Elsewhere such conditions have to be prepared artificially,” Choudhury said.

He added that the orchids were cultivated with technical assistance from the Centre for Agro-Business and Floriculture Management (COAFM) of North Bengal University and a Netherlands-based flower expert, Jan Eicernaan.

Although the project is export-oriented, the cultivators have decided to sell the first produce in the domestic market.

“As the climatic requirements have been met naturally, the first bloom of orchids is really good. We used this feature as the USP while selling the produce in Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Jaipur, Pune and Bangalore. It is important to make a base in the domestic market first before focusing on export. These cities have a booming hospitality sector where flowers are the most important ornamental items and there is a potential market for the cymbidiums grown in Mirik,” Choudhury said.

Cymbidiums are also grown in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the Netherlands.

“The first lot was small and the sale was not for profit. The response we got from the flower auction centres and the markets in these cities was very good. We also received fresh demands from Delhi and Mumbai but there are not enough orchids in full bloom at present to fulfil them. The orchids have to be transported by flight and we do not have much knowledge about cost-effective packaging. We have approached flower experts in the Netherlands to train our staff in packaging techniques,” Choudhury said.

He added that the next lot of 25,000 orchids will blossom by October and the cultivators were holding talks with a Japan-based company to market the flowers.

“We are trying to market the next produce in Japan and we are holding talks with a floriculture company there. As the supply has to be steady, we will cultivate more orchids to replace the ones that have been harvested this time,” Choudhury said.