Trump's new tariffs are sparking global discussion, and the floral industry is no exception. Following our recent article on the announced tariffs and early reactions, more voices are joining the conversation.
The Bloom Show has launched a special "The Blooming News Alert series", covering the ongoing developments and how different sectors are responding. The series kicked off with Joe Don Zetzsche, owner of Rocking Bar Z, exploring the potential impact on supermarket floral buying, pricing, and sourcing strategies in 2025.
"Supermarket buyers are under incredible stress," he said. He explains that they are now working to understand the impact and mitigate the cost increase item by item, starting with their largest growers, especially those in Ecuador and Colombia. Retail buyers and will look at the deep analytics to understand the impact.Experts, for example, will look at th Colombian peso that degrades against the dollar, even though the dollar began to collapse as the tariffs hit, the Colombian peso collapsed faster. So there would be slightly less impact in Colombia than in Ecuador as they use the US dollar.
He also expects that consumer bunches at low retail prices will face the toughest challenges. Mixed bouquets, on the other hand, allow more flexibility. And Zetzsche emphasizes that Mother's Day orders are already planned, so big changes are difficult. Retailers may adjust by reducing stem count or shifting bouquet mixes.
When looking at potted plants, it is expected that the impact will be later, as all the potted plants are already on the ranges of the growers. But inputs like packaging and fertilizer could bring later challenges.
Zetzsche's advice to the industry: "Breathe, take time, and collaborate." While it's a difficult moment, it's not like COVID. "We've been here before. The key is to stay calm, dig into the data, and work together."
See below the video with the full interview with host Sahid Nahim:
Next up was Eduardo Letort of Hoja Verde and president of Expoflores, from Ecuador. While the new policy applies a uniform 10% tariff across all flower-producing countries, Ecuador faces an effective rate of 16.8% due to an existing 6.8% tariff already in place. Despite this increase, Eduardo remains optimistic, also because Expoflores is already in talks with the Trump administration. And when looking at the increase in costs for the consumer, in the end, it shouldn't be more than half a dollar for a dozen of roses, he says. "So this is nothing dramatic." Also, he looks back at Covid and refers to the resilience of the industry. "Flowers were as important as food." On top of that, he, just like Zetzsche, points out that the Ecuadorian flowers complement the production in California. "I think of this a short term problem that will bring long term solutions."
See below the full interview.
And what's next for Colombian growers, who had a duty-free relationship with the US? 65 to 70% of the flowers in the US come from Colombia and about 80% of the bouquets in the supermarket come from Colombia Augusto Solano, Executive President of Asocolflores, explains that the proposed 10% U.S. flower import tariff will impact Colombian growers and the floral industry by either raising consumer prices or taking away money from the industry. "Money that we need for many other things. That's what concerns us. "We worked so hard for so many years to have a duty-free relationship with the US."
A good and important thing, he stresses, is that the Minister of Foreign Affairs stated Colombia won't retaliate but is seeking a solution.
Solano reaffirms his belief in free trade for flowers everywhere and stresses the need for collaboration. "We believe in free trade for flowers everywhere. We promote all actions, like Union Fleurs, international flower trade association. We promote free trade for flowers everywhere."
And just like during the pandemic, "We're in this together." It is a difficult time in the world. Let's use flowers to support mental health, as people will be under stress. As in the pandemic, we may even sell more flowers. Let's stay positive and optimistic."
See the full interview below:
Up next today are Kate Penn (SAF) (Live at 1 PM EST) – Executive VP of the SAF and Rodrigo Leiva & Christine Boldt (AFIA & Esmeralda Farms) (Live at 12 PM EST)
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