Colombia has extended its mandatory preventive isolation, which would initially last 19 days since the measure was instated on March 25, to May 25.
The president of the Colombian Association of Flower Exporters, Asocolflores, announced that as a result of the pandemic, national flower exporters had more than 50% of sales scheduled for the remainder of the first half of 2020 canceled. The sector reports an 80% drop in fixed orders in international markets and a 60% reduction in the country.
Flower export activity was partially affected in markets such as Korea, Japan and Italy, mainly. However, the cancellations of orders from the United States, which represents 80% of the total sales of the sector, creates great alarm among flower growers.
One of the most significant challenges facing the industry is to maintain the formal jobs that come from it, on average 140,000 people who have direct contracts. The concern increases understanding that more than 50% of the operation costs of a plantation are given by labor.
The main challenges for the flower industry are:
- To protect the health of all workers;
- To face with the drastic decrease in cash flow due to the drop in sales
- Keeping crops
- To protect the work of 140,000 people (mainly women)
- To have the necessary logistics to be able to export, when there is a market for the products.
- Portfolio recovery
Due to the health emergency produced by COVID-19, the sector is operating at 25% of its working capacity. The sector cannot stop their operations entirely as they need to keep crops alive to avoid a total collapse. the producers must give it a phytosanitary and agricultural maintenance, so that the plants are in conditions to produce later, when exports resume.
Source: www.agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
