Britons say it with Indian flowers on Valentine's Day

LONDON: Britons are expressing their love on Valentine's Day today with flowers imported from India, among other countries.

In recent years, India has emerged as one of the major sources for cut flower imports into the UK, according to the flowers and plants industry here.

However, this year, growing demand within India for flowers during Valentine's Day has led to lower exports in real terms. The quantities imported from India are comparable to last year's levels.

Industry experts believe that cheap flowers from India will soon flood the UK market due to the recent opening of the Dubai Flower Centre, which aims to exploit its low taxes and proximity to the markets of India, Iran and Turkey.

The UK fresh cut flower and indoor plant market is worth 2.2 billion pounds at retail level. This represents an average spend per person per year of 36 pounds.

The UK, along with Germany, is the top importer of cut flowers in the world, according to the Flowers and Plants Association.

However, only 10 per cent of the flowers sold are home-grown: the majority - 58 per cent - come from Holland.

The UK's other major supplier is Kenya, which has a 14 per cent market share.