Many of the fresh flowers like carnations and roses that are sent to the United States and other Western countries during love-centric events such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day, or similar events come from Colombia. For example, this year, Colombia-based Avianca Cargo transported 18,000 tons of flowers from Colombia and Ecuador to the United States between January 16 and February 8, up from 16,000 the year before.
The majority of flower exports typically go to the United States, but they also tend to be exported to other countries like the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, and the Netherlands.
While the flowers that come from Colombian growers are well-regarded for their quality, many problems plague the industry, especially the escalating costs of shipping the products from places like Antioquia and Cundinamarca to North American and European countries, costs that have largely increased due to inflation.
The planning of the logistics to get the flowers from point A to point B includes a massive amount of coordination from multiple actors who have to transport truckloads of refrigerated flowers to airports safely. The costs have been affected by the higher price of airplane fuel in the market, as well as the added costs of labor and other equipment being affected by inflation.
Read more at financecolombia.com