Colombian Flower Exports
Colombia exports flowers to over 100 destinations. In 2022, the export value was 2 billion USD and the export volume was 320,000 tons.
The majority of the flowers produced in Colombia go to the United States, and has grown into a billion dollar industry which includes: roses, carnations, orchids, chrysanthemums, alstroemerias (also known as Peruvian lily), hydrangeas and lilies.
Colombian flowers growing in popularity
Countries located close to the equator have massive flower farms, perfect climate conditions and lower production costs than European countries. Colombia is the second biggest global player in the industry for cut flower export (15% market share).
In total, around 400 growers are cultivating flowers in Colombia, 300 of them are specialized in flower production for export. The total area used for flower cultivation is around 8,000 hectares. The biggest importer of Colombian flowers is the United States, importing around 77% of all flowers produced in the country. Other export markets are Russia, Japan, United Kingdom, Canada and Holland. Between 65% to 70% of all flowers available in the United States are imported from the South American country, to compare this with the European market: only 3% of all flowers available in Europe are originally from Colombia. This is a huge difference, mainly due to the great distance between Colombia and Europe, which makes floral transport more expensive, but also because of the competition of other European production countries such as The Netherlands. Also Kenya is a big competitor for the European market, they provide around 38% of all roses in Europe, and everybody knows that roses are by far the most produced flowers in both Kenya and Colombia. The total amount of Colombian flower exports is close to $1 billion a year and this amount is growing every year.
Most exported flowers
Of course, roses are the main product for export by flower farms in Colombia, with a total of $365 million. More than two third of all roses from Colombia are bought by US wholesalers ($262,8 million). Russia imported $31 million worth of Colombian roses and the United Kingdom $15,7 million. $13.5 million worth of Colombian roses is imported by Canada. Other flowers are carnations (80% of them are exported to the US), taking $156 million yearly and chrysanthemums ($147 million) and Alstroemerias. Colombia is the biggest exporter of chrysanthemums.
Flower Facts
Americans spend about $2.6 billion on floral arrangements for Mother's Day.
Marigolds symbolize contempt, yellow roses - jealousy - and friendship, daisies, symbolize, innocence, violets - faithfulness, Easter lilies - purity and rebirth, the lotus flower - enlightenment. Placing flowers on graves dates back 13,000 years.
You can make your own floral food for your cut flowers by mixing 2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice, one tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of bleach per quart of water.
Chanel No. 5 has the concentrated oil of around 12 roses and 1000 jasmine flowers in every ounce.
The Netherlands has dominated floral exports for decades, but business is blooming in Columbia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, and Kenya.
THE "RAINBOW ROSE" is not dyed or doctored, they have been bred to grow this way.
Human beings have long engaged in the practice of manipulating the breeding of plant species (through techniques ranging from simple cross-pollination to complex gene splicing) for a number of reasons, including improving the quality and yield of crops, creating plants that can better withstand extreme environmental conditions, and developing food sources that are more resistant to the onslaught of damaging insects, viruses, fungi and bacteria.
Sometimes such breeding is undertaken purely for aesthetic reasons: to produce, for example, flowers that are "prettier" in some way, such as the brilliantly colored roses shown in the picture above. However, although the photograph itself has not been doctored, the roses have - but not through being "bred" to produce differently colored petals.
These "rainbow roses" were created by Dutch flower company owner Peter van de Werken, who produced them by developing a technique for injecting natural pigments into their stems while they are growing to create the striking multi-colored petal effect.
The dyes are produced from natural plant extracts and are absorbed by the flowers as they grow. A special process then controls how much color reaches each petal - with spectacular results. By treating the stalk with natural pigments, van de Werken has managed to make each petal a different color. The pigment is absorbed and travels to the petals where it changes their hue.
Mr. van de Werken, 36, said: "We used to only sell single color flowers but the market for them took a dip. I and my colleagues started looking for something a bit different and came up with the idea of having different-colored flowers. First of all we tried spraying the flowers but that did not work. Then we tried the dye. It took us about six months to get it right and we still make mistakes."
Dutch Peter van de Werken has invented rainbow roses for commercialization all over the world. The flowers are treated with natural pigments into their stems, so when they grow each petal has a different color.
According to The Rose Bible, "Mr. Lincoln" is the world's favorite red Hybrid Tea rose" whose "ravishing fragrance" can only be described as "sinfully perfumed."