Thriving plant business in Ctg hits Tk150cr per year sale
The nursery business in Chattogram is experiencing a boom owing to high demand for plants for personal gardening, indoor beautification and landscaping with a growing presence of plants business online.
Nursery owners told The Business Standard that they accumulate Tk150 crore on an average per year by selling saplings of various species of flowers and fruits, along with wood and medical plants, and also supplying gardening equipment and care services.
Currently, 500 commercial nurseries in the city and its surrounding upazilas produce seedlings, of which 150 are located in DC Hill, Anderkilla, Laldighi, Bahaddarhat, Dewanhat, Wasa Intersection, Kotwali Intersection, Halishahar, Pahartali, Chandgaon, Agrabad and Fateyabad areas.
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At present, a small nursery sells plants worth Tk7,000-8,000 per day while sales at a medium-sized nursery reach Tk10,000-15,000 and at a big one Tk30,000-50,000 every day, said owners.
In total, daily sales in the 500 nurseries are estimated at Tk30 lakh. The sales increase manifold in the beginning of winter and in the monsoon, they said.
Rahul Roy, finance secretary of the Chattogram Nursery Association and proprietor of Banarupa Nursery, told TBS that people earlier used to think of the nursery business as only for selling flowers or flowering plants. Both the scope and nature of this business have now changed.
"We do not sell plants only, but also supply garden care products, pesticides and even gardeners," he added.
Nursery owners usually prepare their sales strategies with the main focus on the monsoon and winter seasons. It is especially in the beginning of winter that there is a high demand for flowering plants of marigold, dahlia, beli, jasmine, joba, chameli, kathgolap, hasnahena, chrysanthemum, gerbera, cosmos and petunia.
At the beginning of the monsoon, fruit plants of lemon, kamranga, malta, wood-apple, guava, amlaki, cherry, amra (hog plum) and plum also sell well. Plants of roses among flowers and mangoes among fruits are in demand throughout the year.
The nurseries also sell seedlings of many types of vegetables and herbs, including pepper, tomato, okra, gourd, beans, mint, basil and aloe vera, at various prices starting from Tk10 to maximum Tk5,000.
Ornamental plants of cactus, orchid, succulent, picus, monstera, money plant, different species of fern, areca palm, agnishwar and aglaonema, which are among the most sought-after items for indoor or house decoration, sell at Tk250-1000, depending on the size and species.
Alongside native plants, the nurseries also grow exotic plants imported from abroad.
Banarupa Nursery proprietor Rahul Roy told TBS that every year the nursery imports around 10,000 seedlings of fruits, flowers and ornamental plants from India, Italy and Thailand, which are mainly purchased by big corporate houses and developers.
Rent-a-plant
Several nurseries in Chattogram also operate plant rental service. They supply mainly indoor plants to various public and private offices on a contractual basis and provide maintenance as per customer's needs, as well as replacement of plants after a fixed period. Besides, many nurseries also offer landscaping by professional designers and architects.
Ali Hossain of Bangladesh Nursery in Chattogram told TBS that he charges Tk70-100 for each plant. Plants of philodendron, erica palm, dracaena, money plant, aglaonema, peace lily and lemon lime are mostly taken on rent for offices.
Muhammad Abul Hashem, Chief Cleaning Officer of the Chittagong City Corporation, said that the CCC and its contractors buy saplings worth several lakh taka from local nurseries for greening various structures, including road islands.
Nurseries move online
There are at least 10 startups in Chattogram city which have taken the nursery business online.
One such entrepreneur, Atanu, told TBS that various corporate organisations and tree enthusiasts buy plants from him through Facebook. He sells the seedlings produced by individual enterprises on contract. At the end of the month, Atanu earns around Tk35,000-40,000 by selling plants.
Bangladesh Nursery proprietor Abul Hossain said that he sells agricultural equipment and machinery worth Tk5 lakh every month. Due to the flourishing of rooftop gardens, gardening services are now becoming popular in the city. There are at least 10 businessmen like him in Chattogram.
Jasim Uddin, advisor of the Chattogram Nursery Association and owner of Fateyabad Nursery, told TBS that the business has changed a bit after the pandemic, but the increase in commodity prices has affected it again. As a result, the price of each native plant has increased by Tk5-10 and the price of foreign species has increased by Tk50-200.
"Due to the lack of a permanent sales centre, we have to face problems in getting electricity and water services and trade licences. Besides, various organisations carry out eviction drives," he added.
Rafiqul Islam, Chief Engineer of Chittagong City Corporation, said that as per rules there is no scope to give trade licences to many as most of the nurseries are in public places, under flyovers or on footpaths.
