“We’re expecting the usual really, lots of negative press saying how and why are roses so dear. The simple answer is that there’s massive world-wide demand and flowers go short,” Mike Dodd, of Connaught Flowers, says.
“It boils down to supply and demand and the best quality flowers are attracting the premiums.”
He points to the fact that while his company is offering higher prices for flowers from places like Colombia, the US market is offering to pay double what they offer. “If you’re a grower, who are you going to send your flowers to?”
Coupled with the sudden surge in demand has been poor weather in major production areas, such as Colombia, and that is adding to the shortage of product.
Gemma Payne, from the Flowers & Plants Association, says the industry needs to get the message through to the public: “We need to be fighting off these stories. We want to give a more balanced look and explain why prices go up - it’s all to do with the fact there’s one product demanded in high quantities on one day of the year, around the world.”
Payne suggests a shift towards other flowers, rather than just roses, may help reduce the focus: “There are seasonal flowers which are at their best at this time of year, things like Amaryllis or tulips, which are looking gorgeous at the moment.”
Jo Read, from the Flower Council of Holland, says the difficulties attached to roses at this time of year are leading to florists moving away from the flower, but Dodd says, while that was the case a couple of years ago, there was a move back last year, and he is expecting them to remain the main focus again this year as well.
When it comes to roses, the most popular varieties are Grand Prix and passion, but there is a growing demand for more scent in flowers, says Payne, which is leading to the development of more scented varieties of rose. “The market for scented flowers declined because people wanted their flowers to last longer, but that’s now reversed.”
Yehuda Reichmann at Agrexco says colour preferences have changed: “Here at Agrexco we have seen major changes within the industry - a move to different varieties and trends in colour. Customers are becoming more discerning. They have a greater knowledge and awareness of design and want to be increasingly more contemporary and adventurous. Of course red roses are still associated with Valentine’s Day but there is a move to use different colours and varieties, which is moving the onus from red roses and gypsohila.
“The demand for lilies shows no sign of abating,” adds Reichmann. “We introduced the pink oriental lily ‘Mero Star’ and a new variety of lily longi ‘White Heaven’ last year, and these have now become regular lines in our portfolio along with giant and mini Gladiolis and the white hand painted Calla Lily. Our seasons are lengthening - product is coming in earlier and the increased technology combined with our logistical infrastructure allows us to provide both lilies and gerbera over a longer period without losing out on quality. Greenery as far as we are concerned is the biggest item - it can make or break an arrangement and the use of Arelia, Aspidistra and Ming Fern to name but a few from our range can create a powerful impact.
The carnation is another flower that has seen a resurgence in demand, Payne says. “I think this is partly because there are programmes like Sex and the City championing them and we are seeing a lot more top florists using them, which is making them more popular whereas in the past they were seen as cheap and nasty.”
Dodd says there is also a shift in purchasing trends among consumers, with more and more people looking to the supermarkets to meet their Valentine’s needs. “Supermarkets are selling an awful lot of flowers and roses on Valentine’s Day now.”
He says the florists have suffered from groups like Interflora selling at inflated prices, although he acknowledges there have been changes in that area too. “Interflora have changed tack now and are offering cheaper products, rather than £60 to £70 for a dozen red roses. That just scares people away.”
Unfortunately though, from the perspective of the high street florists, the damage has already been done. “Those prices simply drive people into the supermarkets. There needed to have been more realism four to five years ago and the florists wouldn’t have lost the trade to the supermarkets.
“We have to face the fact that a lot of people only buy flowers once or twice a year, and if you’re scaring them away on one of those occasions, they’re not going to come back on the other.”
However, while he welcomes the more realistic pricing from Interflora, from a consumer perspective, he says it has raised some concerns in the wholesale sector. “They’re offering prices to florists from the wholesale sector which are baffling. No-one knows how they can possibly do it. The wholesalers simply can’t source the flowers at that price.”
Reichmann believes that the wholesale sector is in better shape than for some time. “We are happy to say that we feel the wholesale market has found a level, it has become more stable with a greater consistency. Customers have found their niche and are becoming more pro-active in meeting the markets needs. It is good to see a new generation of wholesalers giving a new energy to the business and it makes it more challenging for Agrexco as a supplier,” he says.
UK RETAILER VISITS SET COLOMBIA UP FOR THE FUTURE
They may have already got their orders in for this year’s Valentine’s Day rush, but UK retailers Tesco and M&S were in Colombia in the last couple of weeks to take a first-time first-hand look at the country’s flower industry in the run-up to the peak period.
For M&S, this was the first visit to Colombia, while Tesco had made its first visit in November. For the Colombian industry, this is seen as a major breakthrough with the UK market.
Juan Salazar, head of Colombian trade promotions body Proexport in the UK, accompanied the M&S trip and says the feedback has been extremely encouraging. “We spent four days visiting producers, unions and the trade association Asocoflores. Until you have been to Colombia it is easy to hold the wrong impression, but now that people have been, they can see what is happening there, both in terms of production and in terms of the commitment we have made in flowers to our Florverde programme to ensure social responsibility in Colombian floriculture,” he says.
The biggest issue surrounding Colombian flowers for the UK retailers has been concern over security and ethical standards, which Florverde, co-ordinated by Asocoflores on behalf of its members, has spent the last 10 years addressing. Proexport distributed the Florverde Report 2006 to all facets of the UK floral business in the last month, including entities such as trade unions and NGOs, which have a powerful voice in the flower world. “It is very important for us to keep everybody informed about what we are doing with Florverde,” says Proexport business and trade advisor Astrid Duque. “We are not perfect yet, but we have made excellent progress in the last decade and we are working very hard with the flower industry to ensure that social responsibility is at the top of their agenda.”
Asda is due in Colombia, also for the first time, in the next few weeks, and Salazar believes these visits will be the catalyst for further growth in floral trade between the UK and Colombia, not only in the Valentine’s Day period when roses are to the fore, but across all floral products throughout the year.
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