A Bloom with a View
November, 2005
Dear New Zealand flower grower,
Cymbidium season
As the season winds down and exporters minds switch to peonies, callas, and hydrangeas its worth taking a moment to look at the season that has just been.
According to the NZ Orchid price monitor volumes were 6.4 % ahead of last season and prices nearly 7.6 % lower than last year. So the volume increase was cancelled out by lower prices and we all worked harder and longer for less!
The production increase is good news for the airlines, but it seems not for the rest of the industry. Consignment returns in September and October were back to 5 year lows; it seems we still grow too many cymbidiums for that part of the season, and not enough for the early season. This is really stating the obvious but it still worth us pointing out to our suppliers, that as marketers we need that steady supply curve (if a straight steady line can be a curve - mathematical impossibility?) all through the season with the addition of a blimp for Obon. Colours still hot - green, brown, red, orange, still ok - white, yellow, oversupply - pink. Thanks to our orchid growers for their support for the season, it will be better next year!
Interesting news from Japan, apparently the Japanese cymbidium growers elected not to heat their crop this season due to the high fuel cost with the result is that there are no domestic cymbidiums on the market at present, and so high consignment returns for us - every cloud has a silver lining.
Telephone system.
Any feedback appreciated, positive or negative. Please remember you can always dial "0" to go to the operator if you're caught in a never ending loop. Other contact numbers are David 021674161, duty mobile 021674163, Dan 0274995158.
Facts & figures
From Floraculture International November 2005 issue. In an article called "Charting the Explosion, a sector-by-sector look at the state of the Chinese flower market" here is an interesting paragraph: 'Many of these smaller, more traditional growers, are the suppliers at the Dounan flower markets, a 40ha maze of colour, petrol fumes, and colour. According to one estimate, a staggering 20,000 growers sell their flowers at Dounan every day, with even more supplying their products around Chinese New Year". The article goes on to talk about the tens of thousands of buyers attending this market plus the thousands of packers, shippers etc. Scary stuff.
And from our November newsletter of 1998
Welcome to our staff for Mike Yan. Well 7 years later and he's still here. Maybe more grey hair but definitely more wiser for the experience, as are we. Congratulations Mike for sticking with it.
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