The main category of China’s flower import is seedball, whose amount of imports reached 91.34 million dollars, accounting for 42.6% of total imports with year-on-year growth of 10.3%. The rapidly increasing category in the recent years is potted plant, whose amount of imports increased from 10.76 million dollars in 2010 to 47.31 million dollars in 2015.

From China with love

From midnight until 4am trading is keen and fast at the Dounan Flower Market in a suburb of Kunming, capital of the south-western province of Yunnan. Trucks laden with radiant, perfumed blooms clog the surrounding roads. By mid-morning petals litter the ground and most of the 14m stems sold each day are on their way to destinations around China and beyond. Since the local government turned a budding local enterprise into China’s biggest wholesale flower market in 1999, Dounan has become the main supplier of blooms to courting couples and contrite husbands across the country: demand fuelled by a middle-class boom. China is not yet a global flower-power. Its exports amount to a little over 4% of the world’s total flower trade by value. Over two-thirds of the blooms it sends abroad are sold in Asia. (Myanmar is the biggest buyer.) Freight costs are a barrier to expansion into the more lucrative markets of Europe and America.

Import

In the recent years, China’s flower imports maintain substantial growth. According to China’s customs statistics, from January to December 2015, China’s flower imports reached 214 million dollars, with year-on-year growth of 15.6% and an increase by 111.7% compared with 2010. On one hand, domestic flower market increases its demand for high-quality and new categories of flowers. On the other hand, exchange rate changes so greatly that it reduces the cost of traders’ imports and promote China’s import of flowers.

1. The amount of imports of various categories have different levels of growth. Dried cut flowers, cut leaves and flower seedling increase over 40%. The main category of China’s flower import is seedball, whose amount of imports reached 91.34 million dollars, accounting for 42.6% of total imports with year-on-year growth of 10.3%. The rapidly increasing category in the recent years is potted plant, whose amount of imports increased from 10.76 million dollars in 2010 to 47.31 million dollars in 2015.

Other categories of the amount of imports are listed as follows:

Seedlings of 42.67 million dollars with an increase of 43.9%; fresh cut flowers of 26.22 million dollars with an increase of 10.7%; dried cut flowers 3.98 million dollars with an increase of 73.2%; fresh cut branches of 1.38 million dollars, with an increase of 36.2%; dried cut branches of 1.38 million dollars with an increase of 45%.

2.Holland is the main importer of flower in China. Ecuador has become a rising star and ranked the top five. In 2015 the amount of imports reached 110 million dollars, accounting for 51.5% of total imports. The main imports of categories are seedling and bulbs, which took up 93.8%.

Other important importers are listed as follows:

• Japan( 40.06 million dollars with year-on-year growth of 10.1%),
• Thailand ( 14.16 million dollars with year-on-year growth of 10.7%),
• Chile (8.4 million dollars with year-on-year growth of 3%),
• Ecuador (5.66 dollars with year-on-year growth of 50%),
• America ( 4.96 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 4.6%),
• New Zealand (4.22 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 10.7%),
• South Africa ( 3.27 million dollars with year-on-year growth of 21.4%),
• China’s Taiwan (2.99 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 26.1%),
• Costa Rica ( 2.27 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 1.6%).

Among them Ecuador has become China’s important flower importer, whose amount of imports increased from 100 thousand dollars in 2010 to 5.66 million dollars in 2015, with an increase by 5670%. China’s import categories from Ecuador are fresh cut flowers and dried cut flowers.

Export

According to China’s customs statistics, from January to December 2015, China flower exports amounted to 256 million dollars, with year-on-year drop of 32.3%. Excluding from the abnormal increase of 130 million dollars of potted plants which were exported from Myanmar according to customs statistics in 2014, the amount of China’s flower exports in 2015 increased slightly than that of 2014 .

Export categories decreased in varying degrees, while dried cut branches maintain substantial growth. China’s main flower exports are potted plants and fresh cut flowers, which take up 65% of total amount. In 2015, the amount of fresh cut flower exports reached 83.1 million dollars,with year-on-year drop of 0.33%; the amount of plotted plant exports reached 82.77 million dollars, with year-on-year drop of 59.9%; the amount of seedling exports reached 34.21 million dollars, with year-on-year drop of 3.5%; the amount of fresh cut branch exports reached 30.99 million dollars, with year-on-year drop of 2.6%; the amount of dried cut flower exports reached 4.06 million dollars, with year-on-year drop of 6.7%.

The amount of dried cut branches and seedball exports maintain growth: dried cut branches became the biggest highlight of flower export in 2015, with its export amount of 18.19 million dollars and yearon- year increase of 26.9%; the amount of seedball exports reached 2.34 million dollars, with year-onyear increase of 7.9%.

China’s export markets mainly concentrate on Japan, Korean and Holland, which are the three largest market. In 2015 China’s flowers were exported to 129 countries and regions.

The 10 largest markets are listed as follows:

• Japan ( 78.5 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 8.5%),
• Korean ( 32.81 million dollars with year-on-year growth of 20.1%),
• Singapore ( 9.45 million dollars with year-on-year increase of 12.7%),
• Vietnam (9.12 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 23.9%),
• Thailand ( 9.02 million dollars with year-on-year increase of 11.8%),
• German ( 8.54 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 8.4%),
• Hong kong (8.35 million dollars with year-on-year drop of 25.6%),
• Macao ( 8.24 million dollars with year-on-year increase of 67.2%).

These export markets mentioned above accounted for 78.8% of the amount of China’s flower market. Japan, Korean and Holland maintain the three largest markets for a long period. Where is Kenya in all this, what are we doing to capture this large market?