A new business development between Dubai and Madurai, the ancient and third largest city of Tamil Nadu state, India, has opened up with the shipment of a consignment of Geographical Indications (GI) certified traditional local flowers.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India declared that the prospects of regular exports of these traditionally indigenous flowers to Dubai have provided regular job opportunities to 160 people, 130 of whom are women and 30 of whom are skilled workers.
Button roses, lilies, Jamanthi, marigold, and Madurai malli are among the distinctive native flowers exported to Dubai under the new economic development project. Madurai malli carries the name of the South Indian city because it has received GI recognition from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Jamanthi is a native chrysanthemum variety. Malli, on the other hand, is a fragrant jasmine variety native to Madurai.
WIPO defined the GI label as belonging to goods “with a specific geographical origin and traits or a reputation that are due to that origin.” These flowers are generally used in South Indian social gatherings, such as weddings and festivals.
“Scientists at the floriculture department of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University in another South Indian city, Coimbatore, have developed packaging technology to increase the shelf life of flowers. The flowers for the consignment sent to Dubai were sourced from Nilakottai, Dindigul and Sathyamangalam in Tamil Nadu state,” the Ministry said.
India exported fresh cut flowers and bouquets including jasmine and other traditional flowers worth $8.87 million worldwide for the fiscal year 2020-2021, which concluded in March. Out of this, flowers worth $1.5 million were exported from the state of Tamil Nadu.
