The celebration of Valentine’s Day, the international day of lovers and taking place on February 14, is an important date for Colombian flower growers who are noticing a high demand for national flowers in international markets.
Colombia is the second global exporter of flowers, the first exporter of carnations and the main supplier to the United States, Canada and Japan.
The US market concentrates about 80% of the demand for Colombian flowers.
In 2022, fresh flower exports amounted to USD 2,030 million, an increase of 19.1% compared to 2021. It is a sector with a high social impact, generating more than 200,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly, in 90 Colombian municipalities . It is estimated that women represent 60% of the direct formal jobs generated by floriculture.
The Colombian Association of Flower Exporters (Asocolflores), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, calculated in 2022 that about 650 million stems have been sold abroad before that date, representing 15% of the flower sector’s annual exports.
The quality of the flowers grown in Colombia is recognized on the international market. Between January and August 2022, the industry’s external revenue was $1,423 million.
According to information from Asocolflores, Colombia exports about 5,700 million stems to countries such as the United States, Japan, Canada and the Netherlands in a year.
In addition, 66% of the crops take place in Cundinamarca, 33% in Antioquia and 1% in different regions of the western part of the country.
The high quality for which this national product is recognized on the world market has enabled Colombia to distinguish itself from its competitors such as Ecuador, Kenya and the Netherlands, the main exporters of flowers in the world.
93% of exports in 2022 were by air, compared to 7% by sea.
“We are celebrating 50 years of promoting competitive and sustainable floriculture. Every flower that enters the international market bears the seal of the 200,000 formal workers that make up our sector,” assured Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores.
“February is a key month for international promotion as we will have multiple opportunities to show the world the best of Colombia, with quality offerings from the regions on commercial dates such as Valentine’s Day. This will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the regions from which the exporting companies come,” says Carmen Caballero, president of ProColombia.
He stressed that on Valentine’s Day, another Colombian product category with opportunities to increase sales abroad is women’s underwear.
In this season, women’s underwear exports totaled UD26 million last year, up 50% from 2021.
Source: El heraldo
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
