"For next year's Women's Day we expect to sell more tulip bulbs. The tulip sales on March 8 have been good this year, which contributes to a large interest in bulbs. At the show, we have met a lot of potential clients who are eager to start forcing smaller amounts, around 20,000 to 50,000, of tulips in their greenhouse. On top of that, the war in Eastern Ukraine is not the talk of the day anymore. All in all, this creates a more positive and optimistic atmosphere."
Ivan Misko at the Flower Expo Ukraine 2017.
Tulip takes second place
According to Misko, Women's Day is a very popular day. "A man usually gives flowers to almost all women he knows." The rose is the number one flower for this day, and the tulip takes a second position. "The rose, is often used as a gift for the a man's mother and wife as a sign of respect and love. The tulip, however, is more often used as a gift item among colleagues and friends, but also companies often give it to their female employees. During the beginning of March, the temperatures are rising, snow starts to melt and people are looking forward to spring. Tulips characterize spring and a bouquet of these flowers is therefore a popular gift."
Why locally grown tulips?
The majority of the flower bulbs forced by Ukrainian growers are imported from the Netherlands, but why aren't the Dutch tulips being imported? According to Misko, it mainly has to do with preferences and costs. "Like other flowers, Ukrainian consumers want tulips with long stem lengths, between 50-60 cm, and large head sizes, between 5-8 cm. The Dutch tulip, in contrast, usually has a stem length of 35-40 cm and a head size of 2-3 cm." For the Ukrainians, the beauty at the time of giving is very important. "They want the flower to be more open at the time of giving, while the Dutch consumer wants a flower that still needs to fully open."
In order to meet the requirements of the Ukrainian consumer, the tulip needs a little bit more time in the greenhouse. "And for the Dutch growers, time is money, which makes exporting tulips to Ukraine not that profitable. The Ukrainian growers, in turn, are more patient and on top of that, the flowers do not need to be transported a long way. This, combined with the low value of the hryvnia against the Euro, enables them to offer a fresher product for a lower price."
Bright future
Due to the crisis, the demand for flower bulbs decreased a bit, but is now recovering and Misko expects it to increase next year. "Just after the start of the crisis in 2014, the demand was low, but it increased the year after. Now, the demand is more or less the same as last year, but we expect it to increase." According to Misko, the Ukrainians are eager to learn and to move forward. "March 8 resulted in good sales for many growers and looking at the interest for the bulbs at the show last week, we expect the local production of tulips to increase for Women's Day 2018."
For more information
Haakman Flowerbulbs BV
Ivan Misko
Email: flowerbulbs@haakman.com
www.haakman.com