Despite forecasts for massive cuts in total Christmas spends this year, if the Flower Council of Holland’s predictions are to be believed, the UK is on course to experience the biggest growth in flower sales in the coming months, compared to any other country in Europe. In a recent report, the council said British consumers were increasingly leaning towards the Dutch culture of buying flowers for themselves, as well as others, on a more frequent basis.
At the same time, some visitors to this year’s Hortifair exposition last month complained at the lack of innovation gracing its halls. According to one source, to satisfy the increasingly particular demands of the new generation of consumers, suppliers are looking further afield than Holland these days. While, this will not spell good fortune for the Dutch contingency, countries such as Israel could be set to enjoy a bigger piece of the action.
Like all foreign exporters, leading Israeli exporter Carmel Agrexco is to a certain extent at the mercy of the Dutch auctions, since they guarantee a stable price for growers. However, amid sometimes barely sustainable returns, the company continues to invest heavily in new ideas in order to be in a position to take full advantage of any opportunities that should arise, both internally and in the global market.
After nearly four decades of experience, cut flowers has become a key component of Agrexco’s export portfolio. The company exports around 1.3 billion stems of cut flowers every year, which accounts for 23 per cent of its total turnover. The UK office handles 90-100m stems of a whole host of varieties, including sunflowers, gladioli, liatris, solidago and sunflower. Yet, despite the consistency of its global presence, fluctuations within the range of products have been readily apparent.
“In the main the market has been stable for the last few years but the growers have opted in and out of different products,” says product manager Leen Mastenbroek. “Some have opted out of flowers and are now doing veg or herbs or some are doing different flowers and new growers have joined us. We’re seeing a lot fewer roses and gypsophilia, and a big move to greens.”
Roli Lev Zhaaz, one of Agrexco’s partner growers is only too familiar with the changing market. Until five years ago, Lev Zhaaz had spent more than 20 years cultivating 7.5 hectares of carnations. His farm at Moschav Mishmert was the largest in Israel at the time and a major player in the world market. Then in 2000, he was offered a contract to grow lilies (Lilium Longiflorium) and by 2002 the transition from carnations to lilies was complete. “Even with Carmel’s subsidised prices it wasn’t feasible to continue with carnations,” says Lev Zhaaz. “There just isn’t any money in them. We were dependent on the Russian market and when the economy went down they took us with them.”
Despite a reported resurgence of interest in the flower, that is considered by many to be unsophisticated and drab, Lev Zhaaz says his carnation days are well behind him. “Business is good now because I ship about 95 per cent of the flowers to the UK and I know their demands,” he explains. “The UK customers like two buds on a stem and at least 50 per cent of our flowers are suitable.” In addition, lilies require far less water than carnations which is an increasingly powerful motivation for growers, he says.
Lev Zhaaz is content with his position in the market today, although he is experienced enough to appreciate the fickle nature of the business, and the potential danger of putting all his eggs in one basket. “Is it a mistake to grow only one flower?” he asks. “I don’t know. These days you have to be cautious and more sensitive about what’s going on in the market.” Mastenbroek is equally reluctant to make any promises about the future. “Roli may have to change crop again but you can only think as far as the next two years ahead,” he says. “If they decide to produce large amounts of lilium in Africa it could be a problem for us because we can’t compete on labour costs. What we do know is that we can grow it to a very high quality with very specific grades in Israel, with very good bulb stock.”
Gerbera grower Eli Hagage says he too falls prey to accelerated costs, which compels him to preserve a stronghold in terms of quality and performance. “To compete at the Dutch auctions, we have to arrive with top quality,” he says. “Israeli companies have high royalties for using the Dutch breeds, and it is especially expensive because we change the mother plants every year, whereas the Dutch companies tend to keep them for two years. We have to pay around €0.22 per plant.”
Hagage’s farm at Moschav Porat, is solely dedicated to the production of one type of flower. However, he harvests commercial volumes of around 200 varieties of gerbera, with 100 more under trial, and is well aware of the continual pressure to innovate, although sometimes it can be possible to outrun the market, he claims: “We have got a new variety which is called Pasta because the petals hang down like pasta but companies are afraid to bring it onto the market because usually hanging petals means bad quality.” Hagage believes the new variety could achieve popularity in the future but not without extensive promotion.
Despite certain financial deterrents, most floriculturalists in Israel are quick to highlight the country’s positive attributes. While, the company does have contracted growers throughout Israel, the region to the north of Tel Aviv has become particularly populated with ornamental greens and plant propagatory material (PPM) production - a side of the business which has been flourishing at a considerable rate in recent years.
The north-eastern section of the country is dryer and flatter than the central north, making it ideal for tropical flowers. One of Agrexco’s recent success stories is the long-stemmed, red tinted leaf from the Protea family, Safari Sunset, to which 200ha of Israel’s land is now devoted. The UK is one of its biggest markets, with almost every other hand-tied bouquet featuring the product these days. According to Agrexco UK’s flower marketing manager, Yehuda Reichman, however, its profile could do with a further lift. “Safari Sunset is considered as a filler but people should be selecting a few stems of that with one or two flowers and other greens,” he suggests.
Israel Katz and Yedidya Feist, managers at Northern Heights Flowers, which markets around six million of its own stems per year, as well as packing for neighbouring growers, are in no doubt about the advantages of their location. “The Golan Heights is the best region because with the colder Autumn weather we get a better colour, as well as mild to hot summers which gives the advantage of being able to come in early, before Holland,” says Katz. “There are people growing it around Tel Aviv but they can’t get the same quality. As a growing area the Golan Heights is very rich because we go from 200m below to 900m above sea level so there is a mixture of different climates and it is mostly volcanic rock which makes it valuable from a pH point of view.”
The region’s growers are also fortunate with regards to pest control. “In some countries, people have to spray pesticides every two weeks but we rarely have any problems and generally only use fertilisers,” says Katz. “We are on virgin land. It hasn’t been cultivated for centuries and every time I plant a tree I become a bit emotional because it has been 2,000 years since anything was planted here.”
Safari Sunset is famed for its vast compatibility. Distinguished by the fact that it changes colour from red to yellow and back to red during its maturation period and can be picked at any stage, it is also hugely popular in a spray-painted format for festive arrangements. However, new and different coloured varieties are springing up in the area as well. Feist says he is putting his money on a yellow version of the Protea, Inca Gold, which has become the second most popular stem.
Shlomy Kadosh, managing director of Fuga Flower Farm, is equally convinced of a move away from the traditional red leaf type. As well as Inca Gold and the attractive bi-coloured varieties, Jester, Yaeli and Yarden, Fuga has just started marketing its patented yellow variety, Gold Strike. “We did the first shipment of Gold Strike two weeks ago and have been getting a really good price for it - more than double that of Safari Sunset.” Kadosh is also enthusiastic about the potential of another new patented variety, Petra, which is similar to Safari Sunset but flowers later and consumes much less water.”
With 50ha under production Fuga is one of Agrexco’s largest growing partners. However, Kadosh has plans to double the size of the plant in the next couple of years which has prompted his latest project - the construction of a combine harvester for Protea, developed in partnership with the Volcani Institute. “At the moment we have to harvest by hand,” says Kadosh. “This development is very important because we harvest in winter when it is very cold and rainy. It can be 0°C to -2°C.”
However, the most noticeable advantage will be a colossal increase in the speed of the process, he explains. While one of his workers can pick up to 3,000 stems a day, the machine will cut around 50,000 stems per hour. With such efficiency, Fuga’s reliance on the machine will be limited to just a few days per season, which will render it available for frequent hire.
Katz and Feist are also keen to emphasise the importance of R&D in attaining the best possible end price. As well as partaking in projects with the Volcani Institute, regarding optimum height levels for various plants, they have invested time and money in experimenting with delivery methods in order to maximise plant quality. “We used to have problems sending to Europe with part of the stem being open and part closed,” says Feist. “Today we do the grading here and send the stems closed to Holland to be packed there. We are getting much better consistency and uniformity.”
“This is particularly important for a flower like peony where you need them all to open at the same time,” Katz adds. By raising the standard of exports to that of the Dutch auctions, Katz and Feist have managed to double the return on each stem. “Dutch growers are angry because we are getting Dutch quality for our peonies when they usually know that Israeli peonies are second class.” Feist claims. “We are selling our open-field flowers at the same time as the Dutch greenhouse quality is available.”
Despite the inevitable competition between the two producing countries, the pair are ready to acknowledge the necessity of forging strong relationships with the Dutch auction handlers, in order to continue the effort they have bestowed upon the plants in the initial stages of production. Beeri Lavi, Agrexo’s decorative foliage and leaves unit manager, agrees that this relatively new research has a fundamental impact on a product’s shelf-life. “We need them to treat the leaves with oil or wax to keep them shiny,” he says. “If we did it in Israel, they would have lost their shine by the time they arrived. And we can double the return by making sure they just add a little sugar solution.”
For PPM growers, whose end returns are so much lower than those generated by finished products, the scale and efficiency of their operations is of integral importance. “The value of an un-rooted cutting compared to a finished product is only two-to-three per cent,” says Asaf Cohen, general manager at Cohen Propagation Nurseries. “Therefore you have to produce a lot of cuttings just to make a living.”
With 85sqm of production area divided across two sites, Cohen yields 145m cuttings per year. This figure comprises 85 crops, of which 354 varieties are open stock and 52 are private stock, whereby companies specify their own product and packaging requirements.
One challenge for the company is the restricted window of marketing opportunity. “The year is geared towards 10 weeks of activity, when we send around 12m cuttings,” says Cohen. “But it takes almost year-round preparation to produce the stock and meet each client’s requirement s as well as looking for new business.”
This service now includes in-house ‘Elisa’ and EM (Electronic Microscopic) virus testing, thanks to the construction of an independent laboratory alongside its main offices. In addition, the laboratory now houses a local meristem bank, which will aid breeding developments, and from next year, Cohen will be the first company to offer its clients the opportunity to store genetic material on the premises. According to Agrexco’s PPM product manager, Arieh Peles, such brave innovation has not gone unnoticed. “Cohen Nurseries was lately mentioned in an American growers magazine for being the most efficient cutting producer in the world, ranking fifth in the world’s top 10 list of cutting producers,” he says.
ASA Flower Bulbs is equally proud of its ground-breaking achievements. Having introduced the South African bred plant, Ornithigolam dubium, in the 1990s, the family-run company has since spent a decade crossing, selecting and breeding it, to achieve the popularity enjoyed by the plant today. As well as developing a method of growing bulbs from seeds, according to ASA’s agronomist, Varda Uzilevsky, the company has also entered unchartered territory in the last few years, with the managing director, Asa Uzilevsky’s, decision to export products which are neither bulbs, nor cuttings, nor completely finished products. “Asa developed the method of selling ‘half plants’,” says Varda. “We plant the bulb and they grow as a small finished plant. We export trays of these plants and they continue to grow when transplanted into pot plants in the end country.” The advantages of this method to the customer are twofold, Varda explains: “It saves them time and the plants have all the energy and climate from Israel.”
ASA has yet to conquer the UK market in any real capacity but with the commercial launch of two new varieties of the popular Narcissus flower, Inbal and Ariel, the company is hoping to make a bigger impact in this direction next year.
Cohen has already developed strong relationships with nurseries in the UK. He says natural consolidation over the last decade has resulted in a smaller number of more competitive companies, such as R Delamore Ltd, that are willing to invest in the latest production techniques and commit to large orders early on in the season.
With regards to the future, Cohen is forecasting increasing challenges but is confident of both the company and country’s advantageous position. “The market has been getting tougher in the last two years, but I am still quite optimistic in terms of sales to the UK because we can compete on service,” he says. “In Israel we have a short day and we are dealing with long-day plants and therefore we can produce cuttings instead of flowers. Apart from the expense of labour, compared to Asia or South Africa, Israel is better off. We have very good light radiation in the day and between December and March, although it is Winter, the rain is limited to a few days and it is not as hot as Africa which is important because the plants we are producing are for cold climates. Aside from this, we can offer much more in terms of the level of our production: we offer a kind of package deal which means they can be confident in the quality of the product all the way from our nurseries to the final point of sale.”
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