The Flower Trade

When you purchase fresh-cut flowers, do you think about where they came from? You might assume they were grown somewhere nearby. The reality, though, is that the cut flower trade is increasingly international. Today, thanks to airplanes and high-tech cooling systems, even the most delicate1 flower can be exported and sold in a florist thousands of kilometers from where it was grown.

The Cut Flower Leader

The Netherlands has dominated the world cut flower trade since the 1970s. It handles about 50 percent of the world’s cut flowers. And its auction houses2 are very large indeed— Aalsmeer, near Amsterdam, is an auction house in the sense that Tokyo is a city. About 120 soccer fields would fill its main building. Twenty million flowers are sold here on an average day, including roses, lilies, and—of course—tulips. The Netherlands is also a world leader in developing new flower varieties. Dutch companies and the government invest a considerable amount of money in flower research. Their scientists look for ways to lengthen a flower’s vase life,3 to strengthen flowers to prevent them from being damaged while traveling, and also to strengthen the flowers’ natural fragrance.

The Benefits of Climate Despite the Netherlands’ dominance of the flower market, there are many places with a better climate for growing flowers. The climate of Ecuador, for example, is almost perfect. Mauricio Dávalos is the man responsible for starting Ecuador’s flower industry, which has grown quickly over recent years. “Our biggest edge is nature,” he claims. “Our roses are the best in the world.” With predictable rainy periods and 12 hours of sunlight each day, Ecuador’s roses are known for their large heads and long, straight stems. Every year, Ecuador sells about 500 million flowers to the United States alone. The industry has brought employment opportunities and a stronger economy to regions of the country. “My family has TV now. There are radios,” says Yolanda Quishpe, 20, who picked roses for four years. To others, the increasingly international nature of the flower trade is very bad news. In recent years, local growers in the United States faced huge competition from international flower companies; many have even lost their businesses. Lina Hale, an independent rose grower in California, said her father predicted the situation in the 1980s. “I see a freight train coming down the track,” he warned her, “and it’s coming straight towards us.” Her father’s prediction—sadly—has largely come true. In a globalized world, what happens in one place often has far-reaching effects.