How green is the global flower industry?

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 3 January 2022

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Most flowers sold in the florists and supermarkets of Europe are grown in East Africa, where the warm climate supports roses and other plants to grow year round. But is it sustainable? Vivienne Nunis follows the international supply chain from a Kenyan flower farm to the hub of the global flower trade near Amsterdam, where every morning stems are sold at auction before being transported in cold storage trucks to buyers across Europe. The Dutch have been trading flowers since medieval times, when speculators paid enormous prices for tulip bulbs. We pay a visit to Amsterdam's Tulip Museum to find out why. The worldwide flower market is worth $40bn a year, but as growing numbers of consumers start to question the true environmental cost of what they buy, some growers are advocating for a return to seasonal, local blooms. We visit English grower Tess Wardman of Iris and Wilf flowers. Producer: Sarah Treanor. Image: Bouquets of roses for sale. Credit: BBC

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily.
0:05.3	I'm Vivian Nunes and this morning we're following the international flower train.
0:10.2	From African soil to a busy warehouse here in the Netherlands.
0:15.0	Bunches of flowers travel miles to get to your home.
0:19.0	This is a white spray rose called Snowflake that's going to be packed
0:22.7	in the boxes and will be
0:24.4	in the auctions
0:26.5	in the Netherlands in the next few days.
0:28.9	We're asking, is that sustainable?
0:31.9	We just need to stop.
0:32.9	There really is no excuse anymore
0:34.4	for using flowers
0:36.2	out of season. Not financial, nothing. We've got to stop.
0:41.1	That's Business Daily from the BBC. We need more flowers. Yes, flowers. We need more loves. We need more laughs. We need more love.
0:55.2	We need more flowers.
0:57.1	That's a commercial from an advertising campaign recently rolled out across TV and social media
1:02.2	in the UK, the Netherlands, France and Germany.
1:05.5	It's paid for by the Flower Council of Holland, a marketing board whose stated aim is to keep flowers and plants
1:12.8	at the top of consumers' minds.
1:15.6	We need more brides and super moms.
1:18.5	So yes, we need more flowers.
1:21.5	Most of us love giving and receiving, colourful bouquets, red roses, pink peonies and exotic smelling lilies.
	...

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