Europe stays green

The economic crisis is not upsetting the European flower and plant market in any fundamental sense. The European Union continues to be the biggest single market: some 40 per cent of the world’s output is produced here. At the same time the 500 million citizens of Europe are responsible for the major share of global consumption. Nevertheless, within the EU itself there are two contrary tendencies at the moment, as can be inferred from an analysis undertaken by Co-Concept, a management consultancy. This reveals that, in countries where the consumption of flowers and plants is high, changes are dependent in the short term on the way the weather develops, and on consumer taste patterns in the longer term. On the other hand, the trend of demand in eastern and southern Europe is more closely linked to the progress of the economy – which has not been favourable for the trade in cut flowers and pot plants in Greece, Spain and Portugal. France’s imports of cut flowers were also slightly down. The high level of demand in Europe as a whole last year was underpinned by Germany and Britain, and some growth markets developed in eastern Europe as well. Altogether the European pot plant market has for years shown a positive trade balance. Exactly the opposite is true for cut flowers: supplies from the less energy-intensive production centres in Africa and South America are on the rise, according to the Co-Concept report. So the import of cut flowers into the EU rose in the first six months of 2012 on the comparable period last year. The region’s biggest importer, the Netherlands, increased its imports from South America and Africa by around ten per cent. Direct imports into Germany also saw an increase in the first six months; these mainly came from Kenya and Ethiopia. The rates of increase probably reflect the price rises that have been observed, from South America in particular. The biggest European player in the flower and plant business is the Netherlands, which further extended its dominant position in 2012. The Netherlands exporters of cut flowers supply 85 per cent of their volume to other EU member states. That amounted to just under € two bn from January to August 2012, around four per cent more than the same period last year. There has been a shift in the cut flower exports of the EU as a whole. Russia has moved up to become the most important target market now, relegating Switzerland to second place. As eastern Europe’s biggest growth market, Russia succeeded…