Love is in the air: US imports 80% of its flowers from Colombia

If you live in the United States and your sweetheart sends you flowers on Valentine’s Day, there is a good chance those flowers were flown in from Colombia. [caption id="attachment_57140225" align="alignright" width="286"] Pink and red roses at the Flores de Bojaca farm in Colombia have been harvested and now await sorting. (Photo/Air Cargo Next)[/caption] Eighty percent of Colombia’s flower exports go to the U.S., and 80% of U.S. flower imports come from Colombia, according to Asocolflores , the Colombian association for flower exporters. The country exports most of its flowers by air, with 92% traveling by plane and 8% by ship. Flowers make up 17% of Colombia’s income from its agricultural sector. Though the U.S. is Colombia’s main customer, Colombia now exports flowers to about 200 countries, Asocolflores President Augusto Solano said in a Feb. 7 briefing at Flores de Bojaca , a flower farm just outside Bogota. Colombia produces about 60 species of flowers and offers more than 1,600 varieties. The country exported approximately 97 million tonnes of flowers in 2022. Colombia is the second-largest flower exporter in the world behind the Netherlands. The largest flower exporters, according to Asocolflores, are: The Netherlands, exporting 47% of the world’s flower products; Colombia, exporting 20%; Ecuador, exporting 10%; Kenya, exporting 6%; and Ethiopia, exporting 2%. The remaining flower exports come from other countries, each responsible for less than 1% of the total exports. Flowers take to the skies Blizzards in North America and other weather issues ahead of Valentine’s Day can impact air transport but, this year, “it went perfectly,” Solano told Air Cargo Next . “We didn’t have any problems with weather, technical problems or things like that. And part of that, we had this year two special meetings with the [Colombian Civil] Aviation Authority , the airport authority and the airlines.” [caption id="attachment_57140224" align="alignright" width="225"] A rose at the Flores de Bojaca farm in Colombia is nearly ready to be picked and flown to the United States as part of a bouquet. (Photo/Air Cargo Next)[/caption] At the most recent meeting, held Feb. 5, attendees discussed ways to accelerate the export process and reduce delays. “We even talked about the migration process for the crews, how to speed that up,” Solano said. Colombia’s flowers are exported mainly through Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport (BOG), with the second-largest amount going through its second-largest airport, Medellin’s Jose Maria Cordova International Airport (MDE). BOG ranked 38th on Air Cargo Next ’s top 50 cargo airports list, having transported 771,884 tonnes of cargo in 2022. It was the only airport in South and Central America on the list, which ranks airports by cargo throughput. In line with the international air cargo market, Asocolflores has seen increased air cargo capacity in 2023 and 2024. “Capacity was enough,” Solano said. “Maybe they set up a little more [than] what was used, but everything went well.” Asocolflores relies on multiple carriers for transport, according to Solano, including: Avianca ; Atlas Air ; LATAM Airlines ; Air France-KLM ; Amerijet ; Prime Air ; UPS ; and FedEx . Valentine’s Day bump Cut flowers for Valentine’s Day account for 15% of Colombia’s flower exports, according to Asocolflores. Colombia has exported 47,337 tonnes of flowers so far in 2024, as of Feb. 7, a 10% year-over-year decrease, bringing in $379 million, a decline of 4.5% YoY. [caption id="attachment_57140223" align="alignright" width="300"] Flores de Bojaca General Manager Gabriel Rodrigo Correa leads a tour of the farm. (Photo/Air Cargo Next)[/caption] While the numbers are down, Solano is pleased with this year’s performance, noting that flower sales rose during the pandemic. While people were stuck at home in lockdown, fresh flowers brought them peace of mind and energy, he said. In the four weeks before Valentine’s Day, Asocolflores expects to use 12,300 vehicles to transport flowers to the airport, where about 1,100 flights will send Colombian flowers to the U.S. and other countries, including Canada, Japan, Spain and the United Kingdom. Colombia’s flower export business also sees a boost ahead of Mother’s Day, which can last an entire season as different countries celebrate the holiday in different months, Solano said. During the low season, Colombia exports flowers on about 12 to 24 aircraft per day, but during the high seasons, around Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, between 33 and 38 aircraft transport Colombia flower exports each day, according to the Inter-American Development Bank . As of Feb. 7, 90% of the flowers from the Flores de Bojaca farm had already arrived in the U.S., farm General Manager Gabriel Rodrigo Correa said. Ninety-seven percent of Flores de Bojaca’s flowers are exported to the U.S. Though the Flores de Bojaca farm is not a food producer, Correa proudly said that he and his colleagues produce “food for the soul.”

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