Hayleys to extend ‘flower power’ to local market

Sri Lankan flowers that grace homes around the world have inspired a new business initiative by Hayleys Agriculture to develop the local market for cut flowers and horticultural plants.

Armed with more than three decades of expertise in nursery management, production of hybrid flower seeds and growing, harvesting and exporting flowers and young plants, the Group says it can now double production at its 18 hectare facility in the central highlands to supply local enthusiasts and has begun appointing distributors and agents for the purpose.

“We can increase production to 100,000 flowers a month whenever we want to,” said Rizvi Zaheed, Managing Director of Hayleys Agriculture. “Up to last year, 100 per cent of our production was exported, but already the local market accounts for five per cent and domestic demand is projected to increase.”

Newly-appointed distributors for Hayleys Quality Seeds & Flowers are reporting rapidly increasing sales and the potential for new employment generation in this sector is significant, Zaheed said.

“All our experience, expertise and globally-established technical knowhow in breeding plants for world markets are made available to local distributors who wish to enter this field,” he said, disclosing that Hayleys Agriculture provides inputs ranging from helping develop a business model, set up shade houses, technical advice on storage, training on imparting knowledge on growing techniques to customers, to growing media, fertilisers and agrochemicals.

The increasing number of garden shops and nurseries springing up in urban areas is evidence of the growing interest in home and garden beautification in the domestic market, Zaheed said. Hayleys Agriculture is also supporting the city beautification drives in main cities such as Colombo and Kandy.

From the best-selling gerberas with long stems, short stems, bi-petals, multi-petals and black eyes to antirrhinums, begonias, dianthus, impatiens, marigolds, pansies, pelargonium, petunias, primulas, verbenas and zinnias, the product portfolio of Hayleys Quality Seeds & Flowers is a riot of colour and fragrance that has captured international markets in the east and west.

The company also specialises in young plants, planting material, hybrid seed varieties, garden products for net houses and shade houses, eco friendly coir pots, hydroponic growing media and high quality vegetable seeds for home gardens.

It has the capability to deliver its products to virtually anywhere in the country utilising the railway network or its own transport facilities.  A leading F1 hybrid flower seed production company that commenced operations in 1978 with just four people and 425 square meters of greenhouse space, the ISO 9000 certified Hayleys Quality Seeds and Flowers now has 42,000 square meters of greenhouses at its complex in Boralanda and provides direct employment to 350 people. The complex has 5.4 million litres of rainwater storage, believed to be the largest rainwater harvesting infrastructure in the country.

The Quality Seed Company was awarded the ‘Taiki Akimoto 5S’ award for 5S practices and the Silver award for ‘Seed Production’ at the National Agri Business Council’s Annual awards ceremony this year.

Among the customers of Hayleys Quality Seeds & Flowers are some of the global top five seed breeders. The company’s employees are highly skilled and qualified, as F1 hybrid flower seed production involves precise, specialised operations such as hand pollination and emasculation.