With Onam, the 10-day harvest festival set to begin on August 30, flowers and snacks are taking off from Coimbatore.
Consignments with tonnes of golden yellow marigolds, white chrysanthemums, purple vaadamalli (gomphrena), fragrant white sampangi (magnolia), tulsi, cut roses and Madurai malli blossoms are swiftly moving to destinations in the UAE just in time for Onapookalam, the multi-coloured floral decoration that is an integral part of Onam. According to officials at the Coimbatore Airport, the commodity portfolio at export cargo always sees an increase in demand for flowers during Onam.
“We send flowers like jasmine, sampangi and marigolds sourced from Nilakottai, Satyamangalam and Hosur; Arali from Salem and lotus from Nagercoil to Dubai,” says K Sethumadhavan, proprietor of Vanguard Exports, who has been exporting traditional flowers for over two decades. He sends five tonnes of flowers every day in air cargo out of Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Bengaluru and airports in Kerala. “The markets there see brisk sales during the last four days of Onam from September 4 to 8 that concludes with Thiruonam,” he says, adding that unlike other commodities, flowers require an unbroken cold chain, and specialised packaging.
Fresh flowers en route
While jasmine and sampangi are packed in styrofoam boxes, other flowers are despatched in airy five-kilo cartons. “The flowers have to reach airports by 2 pm the same day to ensure that they stay fresh. While most flowers sell at an average of ₹250 per kilo during the festival time, prices of jasmine touch ₹800,” says Sethumadhavan.
In Madurai, which has emerged as the ‘jasmine capital’ of India, exports of flower consignments touch three tonnes every day from airports in Tiruchi, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, and Madurai. “Of this, over one tonne goes to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah,” says N Jegatheesan, president of the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madurai, and a flower exporter. “What we notice is a demand for loose flowers (which is less than 20% in our daily consignment) during Onam for pookalam decorations. The Indian community in Dubai and the US also offer fresh flowers to deities both at their homes and in temples while celebrating religious and cultural festivals. We also send bundles of neatly-strung jasmine.”
Festival snacking
This is also the season to snack. “After a lull of two years because of the pandemic, Malayalis who have made the UAE their second home want to relish a grand Onasadya like good old times,” says Sudeesh Dhamodaran, joint managing director of A1 Chips, which makes over 800 varieties of sweets and savouries. “ There is a huge demand for ultra thin banana chips, naalu vettu chips, sarkara (jaggery) chips and jackfruit chips. We have already despatched 12 tonnes of snacks to Dubai,” adds Sudeesh, whose savouries reach as many as 27 international destinations. including the US, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.
Jubaid Babu, who exports cold-pressed sesame oil, groundnut oil and coconut oil under the name Zohan’s Paripoorna, says consumers are leaning towards good health because of the pandemic. “We have shipped 6,000 litres of cold-pressed coconut oil this month to the UAE alone. This could be driven by the healthy snacking trend, where they make festive snacks at home using cold-pressed oils,” he says.
Cashing in on the trend young entrepreneurs are experimenting with healthy snacks. “Youngsters who lost jobs during the pandemic started niche food businesses with the export markets in mind. We have several new units in Coimbatore that offer quality sweets and snacks. They use cold-pressed oils, avoid white sugar, and go in for organic ingredients including rice,” says M Sivakumar, secretary of Coimbatore District Hotels Association.
Madurai-based Zamco Foods, which exports sweets and snacks under the brand name Ajwa, has despatched 110 tonnes of food items including murukku, mixture, arisi maavu, and palm jaggery via ship cargo to West Asia. Says S Shankarganesh, business manager(exports), “The Kochi port and the JNPT port in Mumbai start buzzing with food cargo during the pre-Onam month, as it takes a minimum of 20 days to reach the UAE. While Qatar is our main market, we also cater to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.”
