With Onam, the 10-day harvest festival set to begin on August 30, flowers and snacks are taking off from Coimbatore. <\/p>\n
Consignments with tonnes of golden yellow marigolds, white chrysanthemums, purple vaadamalli<\/i> (gomphrena), fragrant white sampangi<\/i> (magnolia), tulsi<\/i>, cut roses and Madurai malli <\/i>blossoms are swiftly moving to destinations in the UAE just in time for Onapookalam<\/i>, 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. <\/p>\n \nTonnes of flowers are exported just in time for Onapookalam<\/i> <\/div>\n \u201cWe send flowers like jasmine, sampangi<\/i> and marigolds sourced from Nilakottai, Satyamangalam and Hosur; Arali from Salem and lotus from Nagercoil to Dubai,\u201d 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. \u201cThe markets there see brisk sales during the last four days of Onam from September 4 to 8 that concludes with Thiruonam,\u201d he says, adding that unlike other commodities, flowers require an unbroken cold chain, and specialised packaging. <\/p>\n While jasmine and sampangi<\/i> are packed in styrofoam boxes, other flowers are despatched in airy five-kilo cartons. \u201cThe 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 \u20b9250 per kilo during the festival time, prices of jasmine touch \u20b9800,\u201d says Sethumadhavan.<\/p>\n \nVanguard Exports sends traditional flowers like yellow and white chrysanthemums\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n In Madurai, which has emerged as the \u2018jasmine capital\u2019 of India, exports of flower consignments touch three tonnes every day from airports in Tiruchi, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, and Madurai. \u201cOf this, over one tonne goes to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah,\u201d says N Jegatheesan, president of the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Madurai, and a flower exporter. \u201cWhat we notice is a demand for loose flowers (which is less than 20% in our daily consignment) during Onam for pookalam<\/i> 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.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\u00a0A1 Chips has sent ultra thin banana chips, naalu vettu<\/i> chips, sarkara<\/i> (jaggery) chips and jackfruit chips <\/div>\n This is also the season to snack. \u201cAfter a lull of two years because of the pandemic, Malayalis who have made the UAE their second home want to relish a grand Onasadya <\/i>like good old times,\u201d says Sudeesh Dhamodaran, joint managing director of A1 Chips, which makes over 800 varieties of sweets and savouries. \u201c There is a huge demand for ultra thin banana chips, naalu vettu<\/i> chips, sarkara<\/i> (jaggery) chips and jackfruit chips. We have already despatched 12 tonnes of snacks to Dubai,\u201d adds Sudeesh, whose savouries reach as many as 27 international destinations. including the US, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.<\/p>\n Jubaid Babu, who exports cold-pressed sesame oil, groundnut oil and coconut oil under the name Zohan\u2019s Paripoorna, says consumers are leaning towards good health because of the pandemic. \u201cWe 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,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \nRoses ready to be shipped <\/div>\n Cashing in on the trend young entrepreneurs are experimenting with healthy snacks. \u201cYoungsters 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,\u201d says M Sivakumar, secretary of Coimbatore District Hotels Association. <\/p>\n Madurai-based Zamco Foods, which exports sweets and snacks under the brand name Ajwa, has despatched 110 tonnes of food items including murukku<\/i>, mixture, arisi maavu<\/i>, and palm jaggery via ship cargo to West Asia. Says S Shankarganesh, business manager(exports), \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Tonnes](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/dnocs6\/article65844739.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/53e130c6-ee5b-4d03-aa1a-dbf167f2678e.jpg\" "\\"Tonnes")
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\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\nFresh flowers en route <\/h4>\n
![\"Vanguard](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/u9hz3y\/article65844736.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/saamandhi.jpg\" "\\"Vanguard")
<\/div>\nFestival snacking<\/h4>\n
![\"\u00a0A1](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/cfsjyt\/article65844738.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/IMG-20220823-WA0031_01.jpg\" "\\"\u00a0A1")
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\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\n![\"Roses](\"https:\/\/th-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/h5bohy\/article65844781.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/IMG-20220825-WA0040.jpg\" "\\"Roses")
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\nSpecial Arrangement\n<\/p>\n