Gangtok, Feb 4 : Sikkim will be hosting the International Flower Festival here from February 23 till Feb 27. Twenty two nations will be participating in this festival, which include a buyers-sellers meet.
Orchids from Sikkim are gaining popularity in Europe, particularly Amsterdam, and in South East Asia, particularly Thailand, with nearly 20 lakh bulbs exported. Nearly 4,000 green houses are being set up, said a state government official.
By 2014, Sikkim plans to become a fully organic state with zero per cent use of insecticide, said the official.
The National research centre for Orchids, a unit of Indian Council for Agricultural Research, was set up in Pakyong, East Sikkim in 1996, and since then there has been a tremendous growth in orchid exports from the state.
Here the average rainfall ranges from 2,000 to 2,500 mm per annum, mainly distributed from April to October, with humidity varying from 70 to 80 per cent and temperature ranging from 7 deg C to 27 deg C.
Sikkim will be getting an airport later this year, and the government hopes it will give a boost to its orchid exports.
