Human Flower Project: Major slump in cut fresh flower market - Dole Dents South American Flower Industry
A pair of recent stories both point to the fickle fortunes of those in the cut flower business, especially in South America. First, Dole Foods announced its subsidiary Dole Fresh Flowers would close all its flower farms in Ecuador and two in Colombia. In what sounds like a euphemism, one report described the decision as “impacting 2188 employees” in those two countries. Dole is—or was—the biggest fresh flower producer in Latin America. John Amaya, DFF president, announced, “The fresh flower business is highly fragmented and competitive. Industry oversupply has driven prices down, creating significant pressure on growers to improve performance. Latin American growers are also facing new competition from emerging markets in Africa and Asia,” It appears that Dole will concentrate on a narrow range of flower types, varieties which, for one reason or another, Kenyan and Chinese growers don’t have the hang of—yet. Meanwhile the DFF sales force will be cut by 35%, management by 29%. In Miami, with word of the layoffs at Dole Fresh Flowers, labor activists called for an immediate protest in front of the company’s headquarters, “saying Amaya and Dole failed to meet farmworker demands for collective bargaining agreements.
Oversupplies, unfortunately, have coincided with decreased U.S. demand, according to Ernest Velez, chairman of Asocolflores, the Colombian Flower Exporters Association.
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