The cultivation and export of fresh flowers of almost every variety imaginable and value added related decorative products has brought in approximately $17 million to Dounan, in Southern China.
Dounan, a town located in Yunnan province, is one of the four main production bases in China for flowers. It boasts the biggest flower wholesale market in Asia, and accounts for 70 percent of the market for freshly cut flowers across medium and big cities in China.
Addressing approximately 50 media representatives from 13 countries, Sun Xin, executive office manager at Dounan Flower Industry Group Co Ltd, said fresh flowers alone did not make up all the sales recorded in 2017.
“Value added products such as pots, vases and decorations actually contributed significantly to the export figure.
“Our peak season is winter when demand for certain species of flowers such as lilies grow exponentially and fetch high prices in international markets.
“Everyone is happy: the farmers who grow the flowers, the agents who buy them and bring them to Dounan, and the shipping companies. They all get a good cut,” Mr Xin said.
He said most farmers in the sector are usually smallholders who rely on flower cultivation as their main source of income and plant other crops to earn extra cash.
There are also large-scale farmers who grow flowers on huge estates and use advanced irrigation systems, green houses and organic methods for pest control, as well as grafting to form new species or make existing species more exotic, as it’s the case with blue roses.
“The blue rose is not coloured after they have been harvested, as many believe. On the contrary, the colouring is induced following a scientific method through a controlled irrigation system just before the plant starts to develop its buds.
