Flower growers in Ecuador are trimming back their fields, cutting plants at the root and in some cases tossing out piles of colorful blooms entirely as the pandemic delivers a devastating blow to one of the nation’s biggest export industries.
Demand for the small South American country’s prized flowers has struggled to rebound after plummeting earlier this year – and remains at just 70% the normal rate, according to the Ecuadorian Flower Growers and Exporters Association.
Over 10,000 jobs have been cut and more than $130 million in revenue lost.
“It’s a critical situation,” said Alejandro Martínez, executive president of the association. “The worst blow the Ecuadorian flower industry has ever experienced.”
The setback follows a turbulent 2019 marked by nearly two weeks of deadly social unrest over the elimination of a fuel subsidy that shut down much of the country and led to $45 million in losses for the flower sector.