More than 20 hectares set aside for orchid nurseries

SINGAPORE — More than 20 hectares of land in Lim Chu Kang and Sungei Tengah have been set aside for orchid growers and the National Parks Board (NParks) will tender the first plots of land in June.

This is six months ahead of schedule, and in response to feedback from the industry, said NParks in a media statement on Wednesday (March 14). But the area set aside is about half of more than 40 hectares currently occupied by 21 orchid growers in Seletar, Sungei Tengah and Lim Chu Kang.

The first batch of plots up for tender will be two-hectare plots with 10-year leases that are renewable for another 10 years.

In future, there will be plots that are one hectare in size, with three-year tenures that are renewable every three years. This will cater to the needs of different nurseries, said NParks, which held a briefing for orchid farmers on Wednesday morning.

Farmers who secure the longer lease will have to make an upfront payment of a land premium, and will likely be those that plan to invest substantially in their operations.

Farmers on the shorter leases will pay monthly rental fees instead of an upfront land premium.

Bidders will be assessed on their track records, business concepts and innovation to ensure the tender is awarded “not only to the highest bidder”, said NParks, which took over the management of orchid nurseries from the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) at the start of this year. It now manages all plant nurseries.

NParks said the land parcels will come with some basic infrastructure built up to the front gate. This will enable the nurseries to move in more quickly and help defray upfront capital investments.

The land parcels will be close to plots aside for landscape nurseries and this could allow the businesses to share resources, it said.

Although orchids are a distinct part of Singapore’s heritage – the Vanda Miss Joaquim hybrid was named the national flower in 1981 – the industry has lost some of its lustre in recent decades.

In January, TODAY reported on the challenges faced by local producers. Aside from high labour costs and shorter land leases, they face fierce competition from places like Thailand and Taiwan, which are able to produce the flowers more cheaply.

In 2016, Singapore slipped a notch to become the world’s fourth-largest orchid exporter (in terms of value of exports) after being overtaken by Taiwan. The Netherlands and Thailand took the top two spots.

Local orchid production fell to a 10-year low in 2016, according to the AVA’s statistics. Between 2007 and 2016, orchid production fell starkly by 40 per cent — from 10 million to six million stalks. But this could be partly due to some farmers shifting their business from stalk orchids towards mature, potted orchids.

NParks said it would continue to engage orchid nurseries to formulate an industry masterplan.

With orchid nurseries now part of the landscape sector, growers are eligible for the government’s Landscape Productivity Grant that will co-fund investments in machinery and technology by up to S$300,000, it said.