A Rose By Any Other Name

The inability of Congress to act on renewing the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication trade agreement with Colombia is proving a double edged sword, noted an article in the Wall Street Journal. On the one hand, reapplying up to 8% tariffs to the extensive US flower imports generated $7 million from February to April 2011 versus only $4,000 from the year before. On the other, the boom in cheap Colombia flower production lessened Colombia's dependence on the illegal drug trade and allowed the country to grab 75% of US cut flower market, putting US growers out of business -- the California Cut Flower Commission reported a drop from 450 state growers in 1991 when the tariff-free agreement went into effect to only 250 in 2011.

Horrible, right? The Commmission is hoping the Federal Government will pop $15 million for a new distribution center. But are things as bad as that?

The US Department of Agriculture reported the wholesale value of domestically produced cut flowers was $375 million for 2010, 4% more than 2009. California's value was $286 million, accounting for 76% of the total cut flower value in the 15-State program. In 2010, the number of producers dropped to 316.

In a related category, the USDA noted potted flowering plants for indoor or patio use were valued at $669 million, also up 4% from 2009. California accounted for 36% of the 15-State value in this category, and Florida accounted for 17%. Here, the number of potted flowering plant producers decreased by 10% to 1,133 in 2010.

The numbers indicate a growing flower market, even with Colombian imports. The tariff of up to 8% may have boosted the price of flowers slightly for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or weddings, but evidently the lack of a tariff over the last 20 years didn't cause US flower growers to go the way of buggy whip manufacturers.