Globalisation - Flower - Flower Bulbs - Bulb Flowers
J.C.M. Buschman
International Flower Bulb Center
P.O. Box 172
2180 AD Hillegom
The Netherlands
Abstract
On a world-wide basis, cut flowers are sold mainly within three consumer
markets, namely the United States, the EU and Japan, with a wholesale value of 955,
6,500 and 3,800 million euro respectively. Each of these markets produces a high
percentage of its own cut flowers, but in addition imports a considerable quantity
from a number of other – mostly surrounding – countries with suitable climates and
low wages.
Within this global production, import and use of cut flowers, flowers grown
from bulbs – tulips and lilies in particular – occupy a very defined place. For instance,
production of tulip takes place in some 15 countries world-wide, with the largest
production area in the Netherlands with 10,800 hectares (88%). The next 5 main
countries are Japan (300 hectares, 2.5%), France (293 hectares, 2.4%), Poland (200
hectares, 1.6%), Germany (155 hectares, 1.3%) and New Zealand (122 hectares, 1%).
The Netherlands produces 4.32 billion tulip bulbs, of which 2.3 billion (53%) are used
as the starting material for the cultivation of cut flowers. No fewer than 1.3 billion of
these (57%) are grown in the Netherlands as cut flowers. The remainder are exported
to countries within the EU (0.63 billion) and outside the EU (0.37 billion). In France a
substantial part of the production is controlled by Dutch companies and used in the
Netherlands for early planting (November-December). The tulips cultivated in the
Southern Hemisphere are scheduled for autumn flowering (October-December) in
the Northern Hemisphere and go to the US, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada.
The global production of lily bulbs occurs in 10 countries with, once again, the
Netherlands with the largest production area with 4,280 hectares (77%), followed by
France (401 hectares, 0.8%), Chile (205 hectares, 0.4%), the US (200 hectares, 0.4%),
Japan (189 hectares, 0.3%) and New Zealand (110 hectares, 0.2%). The Netherlands
produces 2.21 billion lily bulbs, of which 2.11 billion (95%) are used as the starting
material for the cultivation of cut flowers. Around 0.41 billion (19%) are grown in the
Netherlands as cut flowers. The remainder are exported to countries within the EU
(1.0 billion) and outside the EU (0.7 billion). In France the production of lily bulbs is
mainly in Dutch hands and the bulbs (Oriental hybrids) are used in the Netherlands
for the planting period extending from May to the end of September.
Longiflorum hybrids from France can be planted early (from September) and
are of good quality. The lily bulbs cultivated in the Southern hemisphere are
scheduled for planting from October until the end of January and go to the
Netherlands, Japan, the EU, Taiwan, China, US and Canada.
INTRODUCTION
Rapid developments in communication technology and ever faster means of
transport have continued to blur the borders between countries and continents over the past
few years. We are seeing an increasing need to operate globally rather than locally,
regionally or even nationally. The extent to which this concept and the way we work also
applies to flower bulbs will become clear in the following presentation.
INFORMATION AND DATA
International trade in cut flowers is concentrated in three major consumer markets,
namely the United States, the EU and Japan (Table 1). The EU is the largest market, with
Japan and the US occupying second and third place respectively.
Proc. IXth Intl. Symp. on Flower Bulbs
Eds.: H. Okubo, W.B. Miller and G.A. Chastagner
Acta Hort. 673, ISHS 2005
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Although the US is the third largest producer of cut flowers in the world, with a
wholesale value of 434 million euro, it imports the major part (559 million euro or 59%) of
its need for cut flowers. The US also exports cut flowers worth 38 million euro, mostly to
Canada. Table 2 lists the countries and their share of cut flower imports to the US. These
are predominantly countries with a favourable growing climate and low labour costs. An
exception to this is the Netherlands, which is strong in the speciality market.
By far the most important consumer market for cut flowers is the EU, currently
comprising 15 countries. Local cut flower production in these countries is worth 6,320
million euro at wholesale prices. The EU also imports cut flowers valued at 653 million
euro (10%), the principal importing countries being the Netherlands, the UK and Germany,
and exports cut flowers worth 470 million euro, its major markets being the US, Russia and
Switzerland.
Table 3 shows clearly the dominant role of Africa, and in particular Kenya, in the
export of cut flowers to the EU. Here too, these are countries with a favourable growing
climate and low wages, with the exception of Israel which, like the Netherlands, is strong
in specialities. The intra-European exchange of cut flowers, worth 2,312 million euro, is
between the following countries in particular:
The Netherlands (2,085 million euro), with the major importing countries being
- Germany, the UK, France and Italy
- Spain (80 million euro), with the UK and the Netherlands
- Belgium (40 million euro), with France, the Netherlands and the UK
- Italy (39 million euro), with Germany, France and the Netherlands
With a percentage of 90%, the Netherlands clearly has a dominant role in the internal
European trade in cut flowers.
Japanese imports of cut flowers account for 6% of the total use and are worth some
223 million euro. Domestic cut flower production is worth 3,577 million euro. Japan
exports only 0.5 million euro of cut flowers. Table 4 lists the major exporting countries to
Japan. The reasons for the fairly low import value are due to Japanese quality requirements,
high transport costs, quarantine requirements and the sales system (commission).
Bulb flowers occupy a significant position within this world-wide production and
trade in cut flowers. This position and the countries involved are shown later.
Tulip Bulb Production
Bulb production from a world-wide perspective, and in particular the cultivation of
tulips and lilies as these are the most important can be seen in Table 5.
The largest production area of tulip bulbs is in the Netherlands and accounts for
87% of the area world-wide. Tulip bulbs are also produced in 14 other countries, headed by
Japan, France and Poland. Most of these countries use these bulbs for their own flower
production and/or for the dry sales (sales of bulbs through retailers to consumers for garden
use). Exceptions to this are the Netherlands, France, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and
South Africa. For example, the Netherlands currently produces 4.32 billion tulip bulbs, 2.3
billion (53%) of which are used as the starting material for cut flowers both in the
Netherlands and abroad. The remainder are destined for the dry sales. Of the bulbs used for
cut flowers, the Netherlands itself uses 57% (1.3 billion). The remainder are exported to
countries within the EU (0.63 billion) and outside the EU (0.37 billion). Unfortunately no
data are available for sales within the EU. The major buyers outside the EU are listed in
Table 6, which shows for each country the total sales and sales destined for the cut flower
sector.
Tulip bulbs produced in France are partly sold on the domestic market and partly
exported for very early planting (November-December) in the Netherlands. This is because,
depending on geographic location, the bulbs are three to five weeks earlier in reaching
Stage G. Bulb cultivation for in France is largely under Dutch supervision, and production
here is mostly done for tulips going in the 9°C forcing range and for the production of
Scheepers sports (group of single late tulips which are used by flower growers in the south
of France to produce the so called “French Tulips”). The planting material comes from the
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Netherlands, yields are 10-20% lower and production costs are almost the same as in the
Netherlands.
The bulbs produced in the Southern Hemisphere are also under Dutch supervision
and reach consumers in the US, the Netherlands, Japan and Canada through Dutch export
companies. This production in the Southern Hemisphere (New Zealand, Australia, Chile)
has increased in importance over the past few years, and production is mostly of the
general 9°C forcing range. The planting material was and continues to be obtained by
importing early forced tulips from the Netherlands. Production costs are comparable to
those of the Netherlands. Yields are also comparable to those in the Netherlands, except
Australia where the yield, because of the warmer climate in the growing area (Tasmania),
is 10% less. In New Zealand the yields are better than in Chile, due to the cooler autumn
climate in the former. The bulbs are used by consumers for autumn flowers
(October-December) and compete with the Dutch ice tulips.
Lily Bulb Production
Similarly with tulips, the largest production area of lily bulbs is in the Netherlands,
accounting for 76% of the total area world-wide. Nine other countries, headed by France,
Chile, Japan, the US and New Zealand, produce lilies for their bulbs. Half of the ten
bulb-producing countries use the bulbs for their own cut flower production, and only a
small part is used for dry sales. Countries such as the Netherlands, France, Chile, New
Zealand and Australia use the bulbs to supply both their domestic and export markets.
The Netherlands currently produces 2.2 billion lily bulbs, of which 2.1 billion
(96%) are used as starting material for cut flower cultivation within the Netherlands and
abroad.
The Netherlands itself uses 0.4 billion (19%) of this volume for its own cut flower
production. The remainder is exported to countries within the EU (1.0 billion) and outside
the EU (0.7 billion). The principal lily importing countries outside the EU are shown in
Table 7.
In France most of the lily bulb production is in Dutch hands and the bulbs (Oriental
hybrids) are used in the Netherlands for the planting period from the end of May to the end
of September. The warmer climate gives these bulbs better stem length and appreciably
more flower buds per stem. Because of the warmer climate during the maturity period of
the bulbs they are more suitable for storage until the required planting period than bulbs
from the Netherlands. The French Longiflorum hybrids can be planted from September
onwards provided they have been lifted early. The other, later lifted bulbs, can be planted
from mid-December onwards. The Longiflorums have good quality and can be stored
longer than the Dutch bulbs. Yields in France are the same or better and the cost price is
slightly higher than in the Netherlands, caused by the extra costs of transport.
The lily bulbs produced in the Southern Hemisphere (Oriental hybrids) are
scheduled for planting towards the end of the growing season (October - January) and are
exported to the Netherlands, Japan, the EU, Taiwan, China, US and Canada. Regarding
Chile and New Zealand, the planting material (bulb size 6/8 cm, bulbils on scales and bulbs
for scaling) originates from the Netherlands but the trend is ultimately to use their own
bulbs for scaling. Yields are also comparable to those in the Netherlands, but vary
significantly between consignments and growers. Production costs are the same or slightly
lower than in the Netherlands, but transport costs to and from the Netherlands increase the
cost price. The climate in certain areas of the Southern Hemisphere is not always stable
which can cause maturity problems, resulting in weaker stems and fewer buds. The reason
for production in the Southern Hemisphere is the availability of younger bulbs, resulting in
lower storage costs and risks compared to the Northern Hemisphere. The Southern
Hemisphere production also allows Oriental cultivars, that are not so suitable for long term
storage, to be used for winter cultivation.
Table 8 shows the expected development of production area for tulips and lilies in a
number of countries.
A decline in the area under lily cultivation is expected in the Netherlands and
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France, particularly in Oriental. The Southern Hemisphere production is expected to be
stable.
Export of Bulb Flowers
Relatively speaking there is little export of bulb flowers in the cut flower markets
world-wide. In most markets bulb flowers are produced locally. Exceptions to this are the
Netherlands, Costa Rica and Korea. Many types of bulb flowers, particularly tulips and
lilies, are exported from the Netherlands around the world, the major markets being
Germany, the UK and France, and outside the EU, the US. Costa Rica exports lilies to the
value of 5.5 million euro to the US. In addition, countries such as Chile (2.4 million euro)
and Mexico (0.8 million euro) export lilies to this market. We can expect the export of lily
flowers from Chile to increase significantly once a proposed free trade agreement has been
signed with the US. Besides its own production of 286 million lily flower stems, Japan still
imports 4.2 million stems from Korea, 1.1 million stems from the Netherlands and 0.7
million stems from New Zealand.
DISCUSSION
The international trade in cut flowers is concentrated in the EU, Japanese and US
markets. A number of mostly neighbouring countries with a favourable climate and lower
labour costs are responding to the demand for cut flowers in these markets. The
Netherlands, Kenya, Israel, Columbia and Ecuador are the major cut flower exporting
countries. New production countries such as Guatemala, Chile, Uganda, Tanzania, India
and Vietnam are also emerging.
The Netherlands currently accounts for 65% of the total production area for flower
bulbs in the world, and therefore remains the leader in this sector. As far as tulip and lily
bulb production is concerned, France, Japan, US, Chile, Australia and New Zealand make
a significant contribution. France, Chile and New Zealand export a large volume of their
produced bulbs to the Netherlands, the US, Japan and Canada where the tulip bulbs are
used for flower cultivation in the months from October to December, and the lily bulbs
(Oriental) are used for the planting period from October to January.
Yields and production costs in these countries, with the exceptions of France and
Australia, are roughly at the same level as in the Netherlands. In France and Australia the
tulip yield is lower, and with lilies in France the production costs are higher. As regards the
climate, for countries in the Southern Hemisphere there is a slight preference for New
Zealand, where the climate is somewhat cooler and more stable. As far as change in
production area in the Netherlands, France, Chile, Australia and New Zealand is concerned,
the area under tulip production in the Netherlands and France is stable, with a slight
increase in New Zealand, Chile and Australia. In the case of lily production a modest
decline in the Netherlands and France is expected. Production in the Southern Hemisphere
is expected to be stable.
Fifty three percent of the tulip bulbs and 96% of the lily bulbs produced in the
Netherlands are used for cut flower production in the Netherlands and abroad. Major
customers are the US, Germany, Japan and the Scandinavian countries. The Netherlands
exports to more than 60 countries, which generally use the bulbs as planting material for
their own flower production. Exceptions to this are Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Korea and
New Zealand, which export their production to one of the three cut flower markets already
described.
Literature Cited
AIPH/Union Fleurs, International Statistics Flowers and Plants 2003, Volume 51, Institut
fur Gartenbauokonomie der Universitat Hannover.
Jetro, Marketing Guidebook for Major Imported Products, 2003.
Maff Web site, The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, 2003.
M. Merino Pacheco, Un mundo en Flor, Horticultura, Enero 2004.
H. Glorie, Royal van Zanten, January 2004.
30
Dalsem Horticulture Projects, Market Study of the Mexican Flower Industry, 2003.
United States Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2002.
Agreste Primeur, www.agreste.agriculture.gouv.fr/et, 2003.
Defra, Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, National Statistics, Glasshouse
Survey: January 2003.
VBN, Statistiekboek 2002, Vereniging van Bloemenveilingen in Nederland, 2003.
Tables
Table 1. Population and turnover in cut flowers in the 3 major cut flower markets.
Population (million)
US
EU
Japan
290
380
127
Wholesale value of cut flowers
(million euro)
955
6,500
3,800
Table 2. Import of cut flowers to the US.
Columbia
Ecuador
The Netherlands
Mexico
Canada
Costa Rica
Asia
Guatemala
Other
Import value (million euro)
313
95
73
23
18
17
11
3.7
5.3
Percentage
56
17
13
4
3
3
2
1
1
Import value (million euro)
327
194
65
22
180
98
74
146
107
Percentage
50
30
10
3
28
15
11
22
16
Table 3. EU cut flower imports.
Africa
Kenya
Zimbabwe
Zambia
America
Colombia
Ecuador
Asia
Israel
31
Table 4. Japanese import of cut flowers.
Import value (million euro)
36
27
26
25
22
17
17
53
Thailand
Columbia
The Netherlands
Korea
New Zealand
Malaysia
Taiwan
Other
Percentage
16
12
12
11
10
7.5
7.5
24
Table 5. World-wide areas (ha) bulb production for tulip and lily bulbs ('02/'03).
The Netherlands
Japan
France
USA
Poland
Germany
New Zealand
Australia
Denmark
UK
Israel
Chile
Argentina
South Africa
China
Total
Tulip area
10,800
300
293
280
200
155
122
70
56
50
50
35
22
20
10
12,463
Lily area
4,280
189
401
170
110
25
100
205
20
100
5,600
Table 6. Dutch sales of tulip bulbs - total and cut flower sector.
The Netherlands
EU
Outside the EU
USA
Japan
Canada
Norway
Poland
Switzerland
Australia
Russia
China
Korea
Total
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Total sales (x million)
1,320
1,900
1,100
441
238
95
79
57
36
30
30
28
12
4,320
Cut flowers (x million)
1,300
630
370
147
90
48
60
29
12
15
8
14
11
2,300
Table 7. Dutch sales of lily bulbs - total and cut flower sector ('02/'03).
The Netherlands
EU
Outside the EU
US
Japan
China
Mexico
Australia
Taiwan
Costa Rica
Korea
Poland
Canada
Total
Total sales (x million)
410
1,060
740
170
158
60
50
43
38
25
24
23
20
2,210
Cut flowers (x million)
410
1,000
700
150
143
75
50
41
38
25
24
19
18
2,110
Table 8. Expected change in production area.
Tulip
Stable
Stable
small increase
small increase
small increase
The Netherlands
France
New Zealand
Chile
Australia
Lily
modest fall
modest fall
stable
stable
-
Table 9. World-wide area for bulb cultivation.
The Netherlands
UK
France
China
USA
Japan
Israel
Poland
New Zealand
Chile
South Africa
Brazil
Germany
Belgium
Denmark
Argentina
Total
Hectares
20,921
4,660
1,289
1,281
995
883
456
335
258
240
200
200
190
185
60
47
32,153
Type of bulb crop
Tulip, Lily
Narcissus, Gladiolus, Tulip
Lily, Tulip, Iris, Gladiolus, Dahlia, Narcissus
Narcissus, Lily, Tulip
Narcissus, Tulip, Gladiolus, Lily, Iris
Lily, Tulip, Gladiolus
Narcissus, Ranunculus
Tulip, Lily, Narcissus, Gladiolus, Dahlia
Tulip, Lily, Zantedeschia, Iris, Freesia
Lily, Tulip
Hippeastrum, Nerine, Lily, Tulip
Gladiolus, Hippeastrum
Tulip, Gladiolus, Narcissus, Crocus
Begonia, Lily
Tulip, Narcissus
Gladiolus, Tulip
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