Floral industry
The floral industry is focused on the production, distribution and sale of flowers for human enjoyment. The industry continues to diversify from the production of cut flowers to the production and sale of plants and flowers in many different forms. The global floral industry market size is estimated to be worth US$ 50040 million in 2022 and is forecast to increase to US$ 58030 million by 2028 with a compound annual growth rate of 2.5% during the review period.
For example, the US Agricultural Census identifies six categories of flowers. Most US consumers purchase flowers as a general category because plant purchases are made based on appearance and enjoyment, not by name. These groups are just for convenience, to help organize the long list of flowering plants in the floral industry. The groups are cut flowers, cut cultivated greens, annual bedding/garden plants, potted flowering plants, herbaceous perennial plants, foliage plants - indoor/patio use and propagative floriculture materials. Generally, these are garden flowers and houseplants, most produce attractive flowers, while some offer attractive foliage. Although these plants are from diverse native habitats and taxa, years of selection have found those that can be produced economically and are adaptable to the human environment.
The floral industry includes transportation companies, brokers, and wholesalers that ship the flowers from the production location to population centers around the world, where the flowers are purchased. Additionally, the floral industry includes plant breeders and companies that sell seeds, bulbs, and cuttings, and companies that sell greenhouses, pots of all kinds, potting soil, labels and marketing supplies, fertilizer, pesticides and machines for plant production activities. The service segment includes floral designers and florists, garden designers, and interior and exterior landscaping companies. Garden centers, supermarkets and hardware stores add the retail segment to the floral industry.
Cut flowers and cut cultivated greens
In the 1950s and 1960s, the center of cut flower production was near the largest consumers; production was local. The developed world, Japan, Western Europe and North America, were both major producers and consumers. In 2021, the world wide cut flower market is estimated at US$10.8 billion, wholesale value, based on trade statistics from 114 countries. The major importers of cut flowers, as percent of world cut flower imports, in 2021 were the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Russia, France.Ottoman Empire and the Netherlands
The Tulip was a wild flower growing in Central Asia when it was first cultivated by the Turks as early as 1000 AD. Mania in Turkey struck in the 16th century, at the time of the Ottoman Empire, when the Sultan demanded cultivation of particular blooms for his pleasure. Tulips became popular garden plants in the east and west, but, whereas the tulip in Turkish culture was a symbol of paradise on earth and had almost a divine status, in the Netherlands, it represented the briefness of life.The Netherlands remains the center of production for the European floral market, as well as a major international supplier to other continents. The flower auction at Royal FloraHolland is the largest flower market in the world. Since the mid-1970s, the production and distribution of cut flowers in the Netherlands has burgeoned. Billions of cut flowers are shipped to the Netherlands every year to be sold at auction followed by immediate transport to buyers around the world.
New flower growing centers
Experts believe that the production focus has moved from traditional growers to countries where the climates are better and production and labor costs are lower. This has resulted in a paradigm shift in the floral industry. The Netherlands, for instance, has already shifted attention from flower production to flower trading, though it plays an important role still in the development of flower genetics. The new centers of production are developing countries like Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and India. Other players in this global industry are Mexico, Israel, South Africa, Australia, Thailand and Malaysia. New Zealand, due to its position in the Southern Hemisphere, is a common source for seasonal flowers that are typically unavailable in Europe and the United States.In Africa, Kenya is the largest exporter, supplying a significant percentage of Europe's flowers. The industry there is represented by the Kenya Flower Council.
In North America, Mexico dedicated the third biggest land area in the world in 2019 to the production of ornamental flowers. Despite that, only 5% of the total flower production is currently being exported, mostly to the United States, Canada, and Europe. However, the high technological development in most flower production centers, like Villa Guerrero, State of Mexico, make possible a world-class quality in flower production. The floral industry in Mexico, is represented at a national level by the Consejo Mexicano de la Flor but there are numerous organizations of flower growers of state and regional scope. The Asociación de Floricultores de Villa Guerrero A.C. internationally recognized by its acronym ASFLORVI, had a record of more than 700 flower grower members in 2019, making it the biggest flower grower association of Mexico. Mexico offers several advantages for flower companies in the United States and Canada in comparison to many already well known flower production countries like Colombia and Ecuador. Perhaps, the biggest advantage is that the most important centers of massive flower production in Mexico, like Villa Guerrero are at only 653 miles, or approximately 13 hours driving from Laredo, Texas. This facilitates the all-season production of flowers from Mexico, to be sent by highway to the United States, and that represents a significant logistical advantage for American and Canadian flower companies that import flowers from remote regions of the world, relying exclusively on pricier aircraft transportation. Moreover, the currently underused Toluca International Airport is located at a highway distance of just 69.00 km or one hour driving from Mexico's Flower Capital, making it yet a more competitive air freight option for the Canadian and American flower markets than any other flower growing country in the world. Since Mexico has already a free trade agreement with these nations, this could potentially be an opportunity for Mexico to step up as the main flower exporter to the United States, and Canada. Furthermore, Mexican illegal plantations of opium, marihuana, and coca are grown in lands that meet all the environmental conditions for ornamental flower growing, making it a valuable opportunity for the Mexican government to incentivize flower growing productive projects for poor Mexican farmers, who most of the time grow illegal crops as their only alternative to subsist. This would allow Mexico to address some of the main causes of its illegal narcotic production and possibly reduce the rampant violence of the Mexican drug war.
In South America, Colombia is the leading cut flower producer and exporter accounting for 59% of all flowers imported to The United States in 2006. The United States imports 82% of its cut flowers. Growers in the United States state that 3 out of 4 flowers in the United States are grown outside the US with Colombia being the biggest exporter. The United States signed a free trade agreement with Colombia and that has lowered the cost of Colombian flowers in the United States. Ecuador has become, in recent years, the leading South American rose producer and is well-known throughout the world for its high quality, large headed roses due to the high altitude location of its rose farms.
Annual bedding/garden plants
Traditionally, the flowering plants in this group are planted for public and personal display in garden beds in municipal parks, outside public buildings and in many personal landscapes. As time has passed, it is common to see these plants in various types of container gardens, on public plazas or patios and porches around the world. These plants are used for seasonal gardens, spring, summer, fall or winter, depending on the climate where the garden is located. Some plants perform best in cool weather and others need the summer heat for best performance. Some are annuals in nature, others are perennial in their natural habitat, but may be treated as annuals in a seasonal garden. In the past, it was common for these plants to be grown from seed and sold at a small size in 5 cm, approximately, pots or packs. Plant and pot size have increased in the last 20 years and many cultivars are now grown from cuttings. Vegetable transplants, from seed, are sold in small to large pots and are included in this group.The production of bedding plants remains local. Most governments have pest quarantines that prevent the shipment of plants in potting soil between countries. These rules protect all of agriculture from major disease and insect pests.
In the US, bedding plants are the top selling group of flowers with nearly 40% of total sales, nearly US$2.5 billion, wholesale value, in 2022. This group of plants has significant sales in many countries because they are locally produced.