A Flowering Industry

Anthurium is an ubiquitous decorative flower (Google image search) instantly recognizable to anyone who spends a few minutes on The Beautiful Isle. Taiwan Headlines hosts a translation of a Liberty Times article on Taiwan's success in exporting it:

After a decade of promotional effort, the anthurium plants of Neimen Township, Kaohsiung County have turned into solid sellers on the international market. Indeed, on the Japanese potted-plant market these days, eight out of every ten such plants hails from Neimen. And fifteen young growers who participated in a Council of Agriculture project are now earning nearly NT$1 million a year growing these hot flowers.

Grower You Chi-wen, 30, says that one advantage of anthuriums is a longer flowering season than most other flowers. Each plant produces between 5 and 8 blooms, and there is no haste to harvest them, as the bloom time is long. Startup costs are relatively low, and the money can be recouped in two to three years. Moreover, if a grower coordinates the harvest with orders from Japan, one section of land can yield a profit of over NT$400,000 a year.

"If you have a piece of land of 3 Fen (A Taiwanese land measurement as big as 2,910 square meters) in these flowers, you can earn as much money as the County Executive!" says Yang Chiu-hsing, who ought to know, as he actually is the County Executive. The Neimen Green Potted Plant Sales Cooperative sold some 2.7 million plants last year – an increase of 40% over the previous year. In addition to the leading export market, Japan, plans are afoot to market these plants in the United States, Italy, and England, and future prospects look bright.

Anthurium, which comes in 600-800 species, is cultivated in Taiwan between the months of April to September. It is primarily grown in Nantou, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Pingtung counties, according to the Taiwan Council on Agriculture. Japan is by far the most important export market, but even in the mid-1990s farmers from Puli were shipping to the US. Taiwan is also trying to cultivate markets in India, whose own demand is unfulfilled by local production, and is seeing rising prices. Global demand for the flower is huge -- according to that same article on India, anthurium is one of the top ten cut flowers sold in Netherlands flower auctions. At present Taiwan's anthurium exports are worth US$3 million:

Since the appearance of Anthurium is attractive and the colors diversified, it has gained great popularity among overseas consumers. For the time being, the cooperative exports Anthurium to Japan, the US, EU countries, and middle east countries, with as many as 2.6 million pieces, totaling one-third of the aggregate Taiwan exports, and it is now enjoying an output value of 100 million NT dollar per year.

Anthurium exports are part of a much larger industry of cut flower exports for the island:

In 1995, the growing area for flora was 9,661 hectares, which generated approximately US$273 million in revenues. Last year, however, the figures rose to 13,375 hectares and US$379 million. Meanwhile, Taiwan's exports of flowers grew rapidly as well. The export value amounted to US$78 million in 2006, up from US$9.7 million in 1995, and is projected to reach US$100 million this year, the COA noted.

"Orchids, especially butterfly orchids or phalaenopsis, are one of Taiwan's leading exports of potted plants," Lin said. "The quality, shape, color and assortment of the orchids grown by our experienced breeders surpass those from other countries," Lin claimed. Taiwan's tropical climate is ideally suited for growing butterfly orchids and farmers' greenhouse-cultivation techniques are mature enough to produce unique species, she stated.

Lin further explained that in terms of cut flowers, dancing lady is the number one export. "We have developed many of our own dancing ladies. Some of them are special, such as perfume-flavored or chocolate-flavored ones," Lin noted. In addition, the nation's endemic flowers, such as anthuriums, lilies and chrysanthemums, are in great demand globally, she said.

With regard to export destinations, Japan is where most of Taiwan's flowers are shipped to, Lin remarked, "because the floral culture there has been developed much longer. Flowers have become an indispensable part of people's daily life." In Japanese culture, flowers represent delight and relaxation, so people buy flowers to cheer themselves up, she explained. The European and American markets are the next targets for Taiwan-grown flowers and plants, Lin stated.

But as the Liberty Times article notes, this is a market that would be very easy for growers from China to enter.....

[Taiwan]