Ornamental markets in the United States

Producing and massive importing, the become in the North American ornamental markets is determinante for the resrto of the world.
Article of International Horticulture - 45, August 2004.

The ornamental are the big chamber group of crops in USA by volume of sales, following to the corn, the vegetables and the soya. The sector of ornamental North American includes the flower cut and the products of nursery - plant in flowerpot, of season and of garden, including trees and bushes.

In spite of predictions of moderate growth for 2003 in this sector, the year happened the demand by this type of products in his group has weakened regarding 2002, producing structural changes of interest in the sector. As in other countries industrialised, experiences a descent of the number of producers and an increase of the volume of sales by producing -less and greater companies. This is particularly signalled in the subsector of the flower cut, where besides observes a strong increase of the surfaces cultivated in the open air, with what diminish the sales by unit of surface in production, since these are less productive that the surfaces protected.

Floral crops

The North American statistics uses the concept of "floral crops" (floriculture crops), that includes "ornamental plants without tallos woody, grouped in plants of season and garden, greens of cut, flower cut, plant of flower in flowerpot, plants of interior and material of propagation".

The pressesure of the imports of ornamental, especially of these floral crops, is reducing the prices; like this the sales of ornamental by each familiar unit, expressesed in value, reduced to US$ 140 in 2003, from US$ 142 in 2002, without that have resentful the volume of the shopping. Of this figure, US$ 54 correspond to products of the floriculture - US$ 9 in bloom cut and US$ 45 in plant of flower and ornamental in flowerpot. These two last types of ornamental - including plant of season, of garden and of inner - are those that experience a faster growth lately.

The high volume of imports is codeterminante that the structural change has done feel of form particularly strong between the producers of flower cut, that have diminished noticeably his number and increased his surface of production in the open air (18% of increase of surface of flower cut in the open air in 2003). This is due to that, in spite of the technical advantages that offers the production of ornamental during all the year in surfaces protected, the greenhouses are costly to build and to operate, in particular because of the increasing costs of fuel for heating. In consequence, the floricultores look for to increase his fraction of market knocking down costs.

Another strategy gone on down the domestic producers of flower cut in the United States to face up to the increasing imports is to produce species and varieties of high value, that do not matter, abandoning those other productions that obtain to better prices in the outside. Like this species that increase are gerbera, espuela of knight, iris, lily, orchids, tulips, whereas pink, chrysanthemums and carnations abandon paulatinamente. The net result is a descent of the domestic production of flower cut
The number of producers of flower cut has gone down of 618 to 548 between 2002 and 2003.

Plants in flowerpot

The producers of plants of flower in flowerpot have registered lower sales in 2003, with exception of the producers of orchids and of bulbous primaverales. Like result, nevertheless, of a lower number of producers regarding 2003, the sales individual average rose  to more than US$ 375.000, from a previous figure of US$ 357.800.

The orchid is the species of plant of flower in flowerpot whose sales have increased more in the last ten years. The sales of orchids in flowerpot reached the US$121 millions in 2003, second solo in front of the poinsettia, that gathers US$ 257 millions in sales. To this it is necessary to add imports of orchids by a sum of US$ 28 millions. The quantity of units sold increase and the unitary prices tend to the drop (of US$ 8,40 to US$ 7,80). The producers are directing to this yielding market, to measure that the hard competition presiona the prices of other species, like the poinsettias, to the drop.

Plants of garden and of season

So much the plants of station like perennial increased his sales in 2003, although some products evolved of positive form, and others stabilised or lost terrain. Between the perennials, chrysanthemums of garden and hostas (Hosta sp.; Perennial rizomatosa with leaves ovales that develops well in humid floors)  increased his sales. Regarding the annual, only the pertinent geraniums of esqueje and vegetative multiplication could increase them. The prices of this type of plants have kept and even increased.

Regarding plant of season, the sales of plant in flowerpot and in baskets colgantes also increased. The sales of plant of season in tray, the greater source of entry of the producers of this type of plant, diminished, in spite of that also the unitary prices went down.

The number of producers of these characteristics also diminished, the sales average by producer increased to US$ 580.000 annual for plant of annual season and to US$ 246.000 for the perennial.

The imports

The United States are, to the equal that the European Union and the Japan, a big destination of the international trade of flowers and ornamental.

The imports of flower cut stabilise, while they grow the ones of produstos of nursery.

The main abastecedores are Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and other countries centroamericanos. In the year 2003, the total sum by concept of ornamental (flower cut and other products of nursery) mattered was of US$ 1250 millions, a 10 % more than in 2002. This figure was of US530 millions in 1990, and the Department of Agriculture of the United States estimates that it will reach the US$ 1400 millions in 2004. The import of flower cut went up 13% in 2003, reaching the US$ 611 millions, afterwards to having declined in the two previous years. This carries the fraction of flower cut mattered on the whole of the sales until the 61 %. This was consequence so much of greater volumes as of prices higher. The imports of ornamental products others that flower cut grew 8%, until reaching the US$ 638,6 millions. It observes that from 2001 the imports of products of nursery have surpassed to the ones of flower cut, especially by the increasing shopping of reproductive material in the outside.

The roses are the most important species of the imports, by a big margin. Colombia is the main provider, gone on down Ecuador. Regarding alive plants and trees, Canada is the main provider. This is due to the severe restrictions that exist for the import of vegetal material accompanied of floor in his roots from other countries, because of phytosanitary ware restrictions. Esquejes Of plants matter in his majority of Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. A lot of plants of flower, like the geraniums, originate of esquejes obtained in these countries.

The increasing market of orchids is resupplied mainly by Taiwan, gone on down Thailandia and Holland. The material to produce bulbous proceeds of Holland, and big quantity of trees of Navidad, of Canada.

Final panorama

In summary, the panorama of the North American ornamental trade is the one of a market stabilised and mature, where the imports dominate the market of the cool products easily transportables, like the flowers. In this case, the domestic producers take refuge in the research of niches of market and in the extensificación of the production to end to produce to low cost.

Regarding other ornamental products, the sales find more or less stabilised, realizar some subsectores moderate advances, by the expense of descents in otros.el structural change in the producing sector translates in lower number of productive units of greater dimensions and income, following the normal tendencies in all society that develops further of his industrial phase.