PJ Wandetto at the IFTEX 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Red and white roses
Rosepath Petals exports roses and fillers and sells them directly to their main markets Norway, China and the Middle East. They mainly supply roses and, according to Rosepath Petals' PJ Wandetto, there is a high demand for the red and white roses at the moment. "Since last week, we increased the shipments of the red and white roses, which are the typical Christmas colors", he says. And this year, the demand, but the prices too, seem to be higher than last year. "In our case, the demand increased by 10 percent and the prices by 14 percent. But this is only regarding the reds and whites."
Fillers
But also in the fillers, Wandetto sees an increase in demand with prices remaining steady. "Our customers mainly asked for Eucalyptus (green) and Hypericum (red and green) to make Christmas bouquets. And, Compared to last year, the demand for these fillers increased by over twenty percent with price movement not as sharp", he says. However, they are still developing the sales for fillers. "Over the last three years or so, increasingly more farms are growing or adding fillers to their assortment. Growers have become more aware of fillers, the demand for them, and value addition to their products by making bouquets at the farm and shipping to the destination." Rosepath Petals currently exports roses and fillers separately but hope to start offering bouquets from 2017.
After Christmas
Wandetto supposes that their last Christmas shipment will leave on December 19. Afterwards, he foresees a brief fall in demand and expects the shipments to resume in week 52. Then, the demand for every color of rose will increase, and pink and red in particular. "The second Sunday in February, Mother's Day is being celebrated in one of our main export markets; Norway. For this holiday, they demand for the pink rose varieties. And on February 14, Valentine's Day is being celebrated and for this holiday, the red varieties are in high demand", he says.
For more information
Rosepath Petal Ltd.
PJ Wandetto
Email: [email protected]
www.rosepathpetals.com