File picture of an anthurium

Aizawl, Sept. 4: Anthuriums are blooming their way to the top of Mizoram?s export list. A two-day anthurium exhibition-cum-sale was organised by Mizo Hmeichhe Insuihkhawm Pawl senior vice-president Darhmingthangi at the horticulture directorate last week.

Organised by the Zo Anthurium Growers Society, the show primarily aims at selling the flowers at reasonable prices to the public.

The flowers, which are quite expensive, do not have a good market in Mizoram.

The export market, however, looks promising as the flowers grown here are of a much better quality than those found in other parts of the country.

The 85-member society, founded in 2002, has organised anthurium shows in different parts of the country.

?Due to favourable climatic conditions, the anthurium flowers produced in Mizoram are among the best in the world. There is a very high demand for Mizoram?s anthuriums in other parts of India and abroad which we cannot meet in full as yet, due to shortage of production,? Lalthlamuani, president of the society said.

The society has been exporting the flowers to cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad through the Hyderabad-based exporter Zopar Pvt Ltd since 2003.

The exporters have recently set up a depot in Aizawl to enable better storage and transportation facilities for exporting the flowers outside the state.

The state horticulture department has taken a keen interest in anthurium production.

After it introduced the flower in 2002, the department imported cultivation materials and seeds from the Netherlands, the largest anthurium producing country in the world.

?The quality of Mizoram?s anthuriums is even better than that of Kerala, a state known for this variety of flowers. We are emerging as the biggest anthurium producer in India. We have also attracted the Centre?s attention in this field,? said E. Saipari, deputy director of the horticulture department.

Saipari added that the number of anthurium flowers exported from Mizoram last month had exceeded 10,000. ?Due to the cold climate, anthuriums are grown under controlled conditions in Holland, while in Mizoram, the flowers can be grown under ordinary shades, thanks to the favourable climatic conditions we have,? she said.

Saipari said the rate of the flowers differed according to the size and the market. While a single flower could usually fetch between Rs 5 to Rs 10, it could be less than Rs 5 or more than Rs 10 in some cases.

Anthurium is a tropical perennial herb of the areceae (arum) family and can grow upto a height of 20 inches. It is also known by a variety of other names such as tailflower, flamingo, cresto de gallo, cockscomb and anturio.