In 1980 there was an estimate 155,000 hectares under glass or plastic worldwide

Estimated area of glass and plastic structures in the world (Germing,1986)

By 1995 the surface area has increased to 280,000 hectares. 2000 estimates suggest 370,000 hectares with 41,000 hectares under glass and 266,000 under plastic. Worldwide vegetables and crops are grown in 65% of the greenhouses with ornamentals in the remaining 35%.

* 2002

This is a 300% increase over 1986 figures. If estimates included all Canadian provinces the figure would be higher. If we apply this figure to the word of 2008 there are an estimated 393,500 hectares under production.

In the 1986 study Germing only estimated the greenhouse production areas for 38 countries. We feel that we can safely estimate global hectares at closer to 500,000 in 2008 with this number increasing at a steady rate as consumer demands grow.

As of 2008 India had approximately 200 hectares under greenhouse cultivation. Greenhouse cultivation offers 10 times higher productivity than in open-air cultivation and this sector will grow by leaps and bounds in the next few years as new technologies are adotpted to meet the need to fill the tummies of India.

Floriculture is an industry which has tremendous potential in India. The different types of climatic conditions provide for the possibility of growing almost all the major cut flower species of the world, either from tropical, subtropical or temperate climate origin.

The demand for traditional flowers for religious purposes is quite large, especially around the temple towns. The production, harvesting and marketing of traditional flowers for local marketing are typical women's activities. However these flowers are produced in open field conditions mostly during the mild winter months without use of any advanced technology. As a result the quality and the quantity available for marketing are quiet heterogeneous and vary according to the prevailing weather conditions.