In March, Ecuador will again ask for roses to be included in the General System of Preferences (GSP) of the United States, which would allow them to enter that market with zero tariffs (currently, they pay 6.8%).
According to Alejandro Martínez, head of Expoflores, the request would be presented to commercial organizations, which after a technical analysis can recommend that the president of that nation includes them or not, taking advantage of the reinstatement of the Trade and Investment Council (TIC) between Ecuador and the United States.
That is one of the four challenges for 2019, in addition to labor flexibility, zero tariffs and changes in the Ingenios Code.
On the labor issue, Martinez said that although the schedules in floriculture that make it possible to distribute the week’s 40 working hours in 6 days, instead of 5, with a surcharge of 25% over the hours assigned to the sixth day, have been approved, they have yet to come fully into force.
The zero tariff would, for example, encourage the sale of pre-made arrangements in supermarkets, which is the fastest growing market abroad. This would generate 10,000 to 15,000 jobs in three years.
For now, the prospect is that Valentine's sales will be worth about $200 million, which is 30% of the year’s total.
Source: El Universo