The long journey of a tulip

Once upon a time, carnations ruled, but today tulips and roses are more popular. One thing remains unchanged: Women’s Day is a day for buying flowers. In Poland, 8 March is the day when the most flowers are sold throughout the year. Few people know that before such a flower reaches the recipient, it has travelled a very long way.

Where do the tulips that flood Polish florists at the beginning of March come from? From Polish greenhouses? Or perhaps from the country that made them its symbol and export commodity, namely the Netherlands? No. Although many Polish wholesalers buy them at Dutch flower auctions, they are not flowers of that land. Or from any European soil at all.

A bouquet from around the world

Looking at the cut flower trade, it is clear how globalised the world we live in has become. Just a few decades ago, the plants sold in European florists came from local European producers. Today, a single bouquet may contain flowers grown in Colombia, Kenya or Thailand. In the United Kingdom, 90% of flowers sold are imported. The situation is similar in the United States, where plants are mainly imported from Ecuador and Colombia.

According to data from Union Fleurs, the World Flower Trade Association, in 1988 the global market for cut flowers was worth €1 billion. By 2015, this figure had risen to €15 billion.

The Netherlands remains the world’s largest exporter of flowers and continues to be the largest distributor of flowers and plants (approximately 45% of global trade passes through Dutch exchanges). Close behind are Colombia, Ecuador, Kenya (which accounts for one in three roses sold in the European Union) and Ethiopia. These five countries account for 85% of global exports. The largest importers are the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Russia.

Following the sun

How did it happen that in the 1970s, flower production began to move to countries in Africa and South America? The fuel crisis caused a significant increase in the cost of heating greenhouses where flowers were grown in Europe. Production therefore began to move south to countries where it is warmer and sunnier, and where labour is cheaper. Under the new conditions, flower production ceased to be seasonal and became a year-round business. Its development was also facilitated by the growth of global transport, especially air transport.

Cold chain

Flowers are delicate by nature and have a short lifespan. It would seem that there is no point in importing them from far away. Thousands of kilometres separate the greenhouse in Ethiopia and the flower shop in Poznań, so transport means high costs, long delivery times and the risk that the goods will arrive damaged or, if they get stuck somewhere, wilt before they reach the shops.

Therefore, it is essential to maintain a sufficiently low temperature – not exceeding 1 °C – during transport. Flowers cut on the farm are immediately transferred to cool rooms, where they are sorted and packed. Different species are transported differently, depending on their needs. Some are placed on pallets, separated by special foil with holes that allow air to circulate. Gerberas, orchids and water lilies must be transported in boxes with water, and some exotic flowers are even transported in buckets.

Flowers are transported to the airport in refrigerated vehicles, and low temperatures are also ensured by the aircraft and storage in temperature-controlled warehouses. Critical moments are always loading and unloading at the airport, which are kept to a minimum.

Breaking the cold chain can shorten the life of a plant by as much as 30-40 per cent. Considering that it is already short – 10-14 days from the moment of picking – an increase in ambient temperature can cause significant losses.

The transport of cut flowers usually takes between 24 and 48 hours. It has to be fast, because they can wait a few more days for a customer in a florist’s or at a market stall, and no one likes it when a rose or tulip they have bought wilts immediately. Each extra day of transport results in a loss of approximately 15 per cent of the plant’s value.

Is it environmentally friendly?

Transporting such demanding goods as cut flowers leaves a large carbon footprint. Flower producers explain that they minimise it by using less electricity in cultivation (flowers grow in the sun instead of in heated and artificially lit greenhouses). The International Council on Clean Transportation has calculated that air transport to the United States of flowers ordered in Colombia for Valentine’s Day in 2018 was responsible for the emission of 360,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. This was equivalent to the annual production of this compound by 78,000 cars.

Transport is not the only problem. Flower cultivation involves the use of many chemicals that end up in the environment and pollute the air, water and soil (even when we compost plants purchased from a florist). Often, they are not disposed of properly.

Flowers need water to live, which causes another problem, especially in countries where access to water is becoming increasingly difficult (due to climate change and/or human activity). Large plantations are located near water reservoirs, where they compete with local residents and animals for water, and often pollute it.

The most famous example of the negative impact of flower plantations on the environment is Lake Naivasha in Kenya. It is a shallow lake with an area of approximately 140 square kilometres, located about 80 kilometres from Nairobi. In the 1980s, the first flower plantations began to appear in the area – the location was ideal, rich in water and relatively close to the airport. However, the flower industry proved to be a curse for Lake Naivasha. The demand for water increased enormously – both for production on the plantations and due to the rapidly growing number of residents (tens of thousands of new workers moved to the area). The lake became increasingly polluted with agrochemicals and its water level began to drop. The Kenyan government introduced limits on water extraction from the reservoir, but not all companies complied. In 1995, the lake’s ecosystem was declared a protected area. The government has commissioned ongoing monitoring of the lake’s water level and demand. Some companies decided to reduce the water footprint of their plantations by moving crops to greenhouses (which require less water), introducing new irrigation systems or collecting rainwater. The aim was to reconcile environmental protection with the needs of business and residents.

Paved with roses?

Environmental pollution is not the only cost of flower production. Company employees sometimes work more than a dozen hours a day for low pay, and they are not adequately protected from toxic plant protection products. Leaky wellies and gloves are standard on many farms. No wonder that the people who work on them can be recognised by the wounds on their hands caused by thorns.

Fair lilies

Every year, over a billion Fairtrade-certified cut flowers and potted plants are sold worldwide. In the United Kingdom, this represents 2 per cent of the market. Plantations operating in accordance with fair trade principles ensure that their employees are fairly remunerated and provided with good working conditions. They also invest in community development, for example by building schools for children. Production is carried out in an environmentally friendly manner, and the price reflects the actual cost of growing the plant.

Shop locally

Floral holidays – Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day, Mother’s Day – fall at a time when there are few flowers grown in Poland or, more broadly, in Europe. We have tulips, which may come from Polish or Dutch greenhouses, anemones, buttercups and Siberian poppies, imported from Italy. These are spring flowers that do not need warmth, and if we want to avoid plants that have travelled a long way to Poland, we can safely choose these species.

“The best choice is seasonal flowers from our climate zone,” says Radek Berent, co-founder of the well-known Poznań florist Kwiaty&Miut. Here, they focus on plants grown in a sustainable manner, without the use of artificial fertilisers and chemical pesticides. In winter, they come from organic farms, especially Italian ones. From June to October, they come from their own farm near Poznań. Various species, especially dahlias, roses and peonies, are grown organically on half a hectare. “We can only be organic on a small area. The flowers are beautiful, but it is a luxury. We grow them and look after them for 3-4 months, so that they can then delight someone’s eyes for a few days, standing in a vase.

While visiting the flower market in Amsterdam this year, he noticed flowers made of fabric that replace real ones. However, there is no doubt that we will always need natural flowers and will always buy them. Flowers accompany us during various holidays and rituals, flowers express various emotions most beautifully, flowers are metaphysical.

 

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