The International Flora Expo 2017 oganised by Floriculture Association of Nepal (Fan) began in Kathmandu on Thursday.

The theme of the exhibition, which is in its third edition, is ‘Floriculture Business for Peace, Prosperity and Hygienic Environment’.

The four-day expo has been promoted by the Ministry of Agricultural Development and will showcase seasonal flowers, decorative plants, dry flowers, orchids, compost manure, greenhouse, agricultural tools and equipment, packing materials and irrigation technology.

There will be around 100 stalls at the expo, 28 of them international, the organizer said.

There will also be a floriculture competition in 10 categories like best seasonal flower, best decorative plant, best flowering plants, best stall and best cut flower, among others.

The winner in each category will receive a cash prize and a certificate, Fan said.

The association said the exhibition would be useful for people who want to go into the floriculture business besides flower lovers who are passionate about gardening.

People can find out about new floriculture technologies at the exhibition, Fan said.

Seasonal flowers valued at Rs250 million are sold annually in the country. Likewise, sales of decorative plants and cut flowers amount to Rs461 million and Rs247 million annually, respectively, the association said.

The flower trade has an annual turnover of Rs1.5 billion. Imports account for 20 percent of the total business.

According to Fan, demand for flowers has been increasing at the rate of 12 to 15 percent annually. Sales mainly go up during wedding seasons and the Tihar festival.

Currently, there are 675 commercial nurseries in 39 districts. Kathmandu, Pokhara, Narayanghat, Hetauda, Kavrepalanchok, Biratnagar, Dharan and Dhangadhi are the key producers of flowers.

Flowers are grown on 148 hectares, and more than 41,000 people are employed directly and indirectly in the sector.

Fan said it aimed to achieve complete import substitution in 10 years.

The organiser has expected footfall to reach 65,000 and transactions to total Rs7.5 million during the exhibition.

(Photos: Prakash Chandra Timilsena, text: TKP Online Team)