The coronavirus. It is a hot topic all over the world. Besides the dangers to humans, the virus is also impacting a lot of businesses inside and outside of China. Yesterday, we already published how the virus is affecting the international flower trade. We spoke to more foreign horticultural companies that are active in China and we're hearing more and more reports on the struggle of the small businesses to bear the costs.
Chinese projects
“As a direct result of the virus outbreak there will be some delays in projects”, says Jelmer Huizing with Codema. The company has been active in China for a couple of years and last year opened their Chinese office.
“First cause for the delays is that the Chinese holidays been extended after the New Year break. We do have to see how this will continue. Also for us as a company, we will not send any supervisors to China for the month of February and will see later on for the later projects. This is due to the unclearness of the situation and due to the flights being cancelled.”
He explains how this will affect the pace of projects being completed, but adds how this currently isn’t the biggest issue for Chinese horticulture. Since the public life has shut down due to the governmental precautionary measures, greenhouse workers aren’t able to go to the greenhouse. Then there’s hardly any transport and due to the public life shutting down, including the flower & plant and fruit and vegetable markets, the trade is silent. “Especially from floricultural region Kunming we hear these stories”, he says. “Then there’s the production industry as a whole shutting down and dealing with delays. The Chinese government already announced support for the industry to rebuild the markets, yet how big the effects of the outbreak and the support are, will depend on how the situation develops.” Codema just shipped out 1,000 medical mouth masks, from Australia, to a hospital in Wuhan. "A little token of our solidarity and support", Jelmer says.
New office
Also the team with Meteor Systems has to deal with the effects of the outbreak. The company, known for their gutter and irrigation solutions, is expanding their activities in China at a rapid pace currently and recently sent their first machine to the Chinese market.
“Since the holidays for the Shanghai region have been extended to February 10th and for the rest of China until last Monday, there could be delays in projects - although the exact effects will become clear in the coming weeks. According to our Chinese colleague Junyi Xu, the government does everything they can to control the outbreak”, Marc Staring says. “Yet for now we did cancel her trip to the Fruit Logistica. This is because we do expect fewer Chinese companies to be present and also since it might be hard to return to China due to the canceled flights.” He explains how the outbreak concentrates around the Hubei area, where most contaminations were found. “The rest of China, which of course is a very big country, seems to be OK for now - although the governmental measures have a big effect.”
Greenhouse companies in China have to deal with the governmental measures as well. There aren't enough workers to complete the job since the holiday is extended and the working time of the workers have to be re-scheduled. In addition, office workers are still at home. "There's a big impact on the delivery of goods and logistics", a grower from the Beijing area says.
From a sales perspective, flowers cannot be sold out, so they have to stop selling. Now many flower markets are shut down. Companies have incurred big losses because of this. Read more on how the international floral trade is impacted by the virus in this article that we published on FloralDaily, yesterday.
Bearing the costs
Yesterday, Reuters reported on the concerns of a handicraft store in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. The owner of the shop told Reuters that he is worrying that he may soon have to shut his online handicraft store and tell the 1,400 craftswomen he employs he is no longer able to sell their work. And many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), already struggling for access to credit, are bearing the brunt of the pain. "That’s posing a further threat to China’s economy, growing as it is at its slowest in three decades", as stated in the Reuters article.
Also Shanghai-based florist Wang Haiyan told her story to Reuters. She estimates that she has already lost 10,000 to 20,000 yuan on unsold flowers as some clients canceled events or postponed weddings due to the outbreak. She is not optimistic for Valentine’s Day either, saying she is considering preparing less flowers for the season. “Valentine’s Day is when florists make the most money. Now these hopes are dashed to pieces this year”, she told Reuters. Click here to read the complete article.
Livelihood of South Korean flower growers threatened
Also in Busan, South Korea, the coronavirus outbreak is hurting the floriculture industry as an increasing number of schools are cancelling graduation and enrollment ceremonies, Korea Bizwire reports. Farmers complain that selling their product at these prices doesn’t even pay for their heating bills, let alone allow them to make a profit, after an additional fee of 7 percent is taken away from the price as commission. Click here to read the complete article.
World Orchid Conference in Taiwan
From March 9-18, the 23rd edition of the World Orchid Conference will be held, but many who want to visit the show are worried and may be afraid of traveling to Taiwan due to the coronavirus situation in Taiwan. In an announcement on their website, the organization of the Conference appeases the attendees by explaining the situation and they assure that it is safe to travel and to stay in Taiwan. Click here for the announcement.
