The second half of May 2017, Europe and the US are still dealing with the ban on GM orange petunia. Besides that, a lot of attention went to sales on Mother's Day that was celebrated on May 14, 2017. In the US, Germany, and the Netherlands, the industry was happy with the Mother's Day results. In France, however, the sales were disappointing.
Potted rose grower Chris Andersen, DanRoses:
Denmark: Dark days delay Mother's Day production
Over the last couple of weeks, many Danish growers had to deal with dark days. This was not beneficial for the development of their crop in the run-up to Mother's Day, celebrated in Denmark and other European countries on Sunday May 14, 207. "We could not meet the demand in the free market", says Danish potted rose grower Chris Andersen, owner of DanRoses. For them, the Mother's Day season is the most important season of the year.
United Selections promotes Jelle Posthumus to CEO
Jelle Posthumus has been appointed to the position of United Selections CEO. Jelle has been with United Selections for the last 5 years, during which time he has held positions in sales and marketing. In his new role, Jelle will be ultimately responsible for all United Selections activities worldwide.
USDA presents list of genetically engineered varieties:
US: Unauthorized GE petunias withdrawn from distribution
The orange-colored petunia story has reached the United States. Several distributors are currently destroying and withdrawing the petunias from sale that are found to be genetically engineered (GE) and do not have a proper authorization. This was reported by the USDA in their stakeholder announcement. They say that flowers pose no risk to the environment or to human health, but GE organisms need special permits to be sold in the United States.
Good Mother's Day sales for German wholesalers
Flowers seem to remain the most used Mother's Day gifts. The Association of the German Flower Wholesale and Import Trade (BGI) ad hoc survey, conducted among its members, showed that the wholesalers were very satisfied with the results. In particular West and South, they had good sales and post-sales.Royal FloraHolland halts supply of genetically modified petunias
Royal FloraHolland is adopting the RIKILT findings and preventing the trade in modified orange petunia varieties by blocking the VBN codes. In the Netherlands, research conducted by RIKILT has found that there are a number of genetically modified orange petunia varieties available. This study was commissioned by the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate.How did a GM petunia end up in regular breeding programs?
GM petunias are a highly discussed topic at the moment in Europe and the USA. Now, as the varieties have been removed from sale and breeders of orange petunias have been ordered by the Dutch Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (ILT) to show their crossing history, everything seems to point to "unintentional GMO". At least, this is stated by Plantum, the Dutch association for the plant reproduction material industry, based on an interesting presumption. Thijs Simons, policy officer at the association, clarifies.Mini phalaenopsis popular French Mother's Day gift
"We doubled our production for this year's Mother's day and we are almost sold out, so we are quite satisfied", says Alan Lu, owner of Okidland, a orchid farm in the South of France. This year, Mother's Day will be celebrated on Sunday May 28 in France. Mini phalaenopsis, and in particular the pot-plant combinations seem to be in high demand.
more people turned retail florists
US: Consumers spent more on floral Mother’s Day gifts this year
Feeling good about Mother’s Day? You’re probably not alone. About 35 percent of Americans reported buying fresh flowers and plants as Mother’s Day gifts this year. That figure is in line with 2015 results and comes from a new Society of American Florists-commissioned survey from Ipsos Public Affairs, which points to some promising trends for the recent holiday: Customers spent more on floral gifts this year, compared to 2015 when the survey was last conducted, and more customers chose to buy from retail florists.
Mother's Day and two extra auction days increased revenue by 2.5%
Period 4 (24 April - 21 May 2017) closed with a turnover of €483 million. This is €12 million more than in period 5 of 2016 and reflects an increase of 2.5%. The increase is the result of a 3.2% higher average price. In contrast, the supply was 0.6% lower than last year. As Pentecost and Ascension Day fall this year in period 6 rather than in period 5, the increased revenue in period 5 of this year is distorted by two additional auction days. Period 5 included Mother's Day in 2017 as well as in 2016. But Mother's Day 2017 brought in €6.5 million more than Mother's Day 2016.
Richard Valentin, Valentin Fleurs:
French growers pleased with peony season
Last Sunday, Mother's Day was celebrated in France. Peonies are beloved gifts and French peony growers often get a piece of the pie. This year however, this piece was a little smaller as the peony season ended a bit earlier. But French peony grower Richard Valentin of Valentin Fleurs is not disappointed at all. "Overall, we produced about 30-40 percent more peonies this season and for Mother's Day, we also supply cut chrysanthemums, cut anthuriums and lisianthus, which all received about 8 percent higher prices compared to last year during Mother's Day."
Trifolium: a new staple for Swedish Mother's Day?
Over the last couple of years, the demand for trifolium is rising sharply in Scandinavia and it now also seems to become a popular Mother's Day gift. Last Sunday, May 28, Mother's Day was celebrated in Sweden and for the first time, Danish trifolium breeder and grower Gartneriet Raahöj heard that their trifoliums were used for this holiday.
Gilles Rus, SICA Flower Market:
French Mother's Day 2017: Disappointing for auction and florists
"The auction prices were about 7.7 percent lower and florists had about 25-35 percent less turnover", says Gilles Rus of Sica Flower Market when comparing this year's French Mother's Day (May 28, 2017) with that of last year. According to him, the main reason for this decrease was the combination of good weather and a public holiday on Thursday May 25, 2017.