Colombia’s flower industry, one of the country’s most iconic exports, is facing what its leading trade group calls its worst crisis ever. Despite a strong start to the year thanks to booming Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day sales, growers are now being squeezed from multiple directions: a weakening US dollar that shrinks their earnings when converted to Colombian pesos, climbing labor expenses at home, and a new 12.5 percent tariff imposed by the United States on flower imports.
Laura Valdivieso, head of Asocolflores, the country’s flower exporters’ association, described the situation as critical and called on Colombia’s national government to step in urgently. She warned that without swift action, growers—many of whom are small and mid-sized operations employing thousands of rural workers—could face severe financial strain.
Adding to the uncertainty is the looming threat of El Niño, the recurring weather pattern that brings hotter, drier conditions to parts of South America. Beyond threatening crop yields directly, forecasters warn El Niño could also push up inflation in Colombia, which in turn could affect interest rates and further complicate the exchange rate the flower industry depends on to stay competitive abroad.
With export markets, labor costs and climate all working against them at once, Colombia’s flower growers—who supply a large share of the bouquets sold in the US—are bracing for a turbulent year ahead. You can read the full interview at El Tiempo.
Source: Caída del dólar, altos costos laborales y aranceles tienen a las flores colombianas en una crisis sin precedentes (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: D.Eickhoff, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).