U.S. flower supply: not a rosy picture

Our annual report reveals the volume of cut flowers available for sale in the U.S. is on the decline.

     In 2009—the year for which the most current data is available—both the total wholesale value and the total number of flowers available for sale in the United States declined from 2008, in both imported and domestically grown flowers. The number of growers, both foreign and U.S., was also down.

     Of the cut flower crops that are counted, only one domestically grown crop, Gladioli, experienced an increase, and only seven imported crops (lilies, Irises, Lisianthuses, Hydrangeas, snapdragons, Limonium and tulips) saw increases. The data in the chart below provides the details.

Where the U.S. cut flower supply comes from

• Imports account for approximately 67% (two-thirds) of the wholesale dollar volume of the cut flowers available for sale in the U.S.

• Domestically grown cut flowers account for approximately 33% (one-third) of the cut flowers available for sale in the U.S (by wholesale dollar volume).

Sources: Domestic production figures: Agricultural Statistics Board, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “Floriculture Crops 2009 Summary”

Import figures: U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)％

• Of the imported cut flowers sold in the U.S., these countries supply the following percentages (by wholesale dollar volume):

In numbers of stems, more than 5.3 billion cut flowers were imported into the U.S. in 2009. Of those, approximately 60 percent came from Colombia, 30 percent from Ecuador and 10 percent from the rest of the world.

• Of the domestically grown cut flowers sold in the U.S., these states produce the following percentages (by wholesale dollar volume):

(These figures are for cut flowers only and do not include cut cultivated greens or plants of any kind.)