"The Colombian ornamental market needs a boost"

Marco Heijnen from Floricultura B.V. visited Colombia to get a firsthand look at its ornamental-plant market and offer his advice on growing orchids. He attended a get-together with several growers and the Association of Colombian Nurseries and Ornamental Growers, Colviveros.

As a Dutch breeding company, why did you visit Colombia?
The purpose of this visit was to discover the possibilities that there are for Floricultura in Colombia and also to visit existing and possible new clients.

What did you see on the field regarding Orchid production in Colombia?
The greenhouses are in general less technically equipped than what we are used to in Holland, which means mostly wooden structures, no heating, no cooling and no overhead irrigation. This makes it difficult to grow a sensitive crop like Phalaenopsis.

What about the potential of the local market?
The potential is there, the amount of plants grown compared with the amount of people that live in Colombia is really big. On average, less than 1 percent of the people buy an Orchid in Colombia, compared with Brazil for example, this is around 4 percent. Meaning the potential is still big considering that an Orchid is the number 1 pot plant in most countries. If only 1 percent of the people in Colombia would buy an Orchid, already 450,000 plants have to be produced which is more than the current production amount.

Any opportunity to grow Orchids in Colombia to compete at the international arena?
Considering the market potential in Colombia, it is not necessary to go abroad for the coming years. Only when the local market gets saturated, Colombian growers need to look for export but this is almost impossible to compete with flowering plants.

Is Floricultura B.V. the largest orchid breeder in the world? How many plants per year?
Floricultura is the global market leader in orchid breeding and propagation, we supply many dozens of millions of plants every year to growers located all over the world.

What is the secret of the Netherlands to remain at the top of the ornamental ranking in the world?
That is a very good question, I think that the secret of the Dutch horticultural business is the fact that they are continuously developing the systems we have and share this information. Our greenhouses are getting better every year; research is being done to improve cultivation, labour and energy techniques every year. One of the biggest differences between the Netherlands and Colombia regarding the Horticultural sector is also the specializing of companies. In the Netherlands you will see most companies are specialized in one or two products instead of many different kind of crops per company like in Colombia. This way the quality of each product can be high and can be continuously improved.

What do you think about the role of Colviveros, the new nurseries and ornamental guide in Colombia?
I think that Colombia needs a Guild like Colviveros to give the growers the trust and confidence that they need to have for the near future. The potential is there and together we need to show Colombia that it is not only a country of cut flowers but also of (flowering) pot plants.

For more information:
Colviveros
Jairo Cadavid
presidencia@colviveros.org
www.colviveros.org