February 14, 2008	Thursday	Safar 06, 1429

BANGALORE: Valentine’s Day may infuriate India’s Muslim and Hindu fundamentalist groups, but the festival signals boom time for the world’s biggest rose grower.

Bangalore-based Karuturi Networks — which grows flowers in India, Kenya and Ethiopia — has shipped about 18 million roses to Europe and other markets for Valentine’s Day, four times last year’s sales, a senior executive said.

And local sales at one million stems are 25 per cent up ahead of Valentine’s Day on Feb 14.“We are going full,” said Prasanna Pai, chief financial officer at the company. “Exports have multiplied after our acquisition in Kenya last year.” The company purchased the Kenyan business of Dutch flower producer Sher Holland in October 2007 for $72 million.

The move raised Karuturi’s annual production to 650 million roses from about 130 million, and it has ambitious plans to increase production to one billion stems over the next three years.

Pai estimated the annual global market for flowers at about $80 billion, dominated by trade in roses.

In India, Hindu and Muslim groups have in the past targeted dating couples celebrating Valentine’s Day.

A women’s separatist group in revolt-hit Indian Kashmir last month told local Muslims not to celebrate Valentine’s Day, saying it promoted “immorality.” The “younger generation in particular” were warned by the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, or Daughters of the Faith, to avoid celebrations.

Newspapers are running articles on celebrating the day, advertisers promote romantic evenings and many shops are selling chocolates, heart-shaped trinkets and soft toys.

“There is a vast awareness of international festivals among the youngsters of today, like those who work in software firms or call centres” said Pai.

Karuturi was founded by entrepreneur Ramakrishna Karuturi, a mechanical engineer who gave up the family business of manufacturing cables and transmission towers to grow roses.

The inspiration came one Valentine’s Day, when he went around this southern Indian city in search of roses for his wife and couldn’t find any.—AFP