Home Grown Chrysanthemums Becoming Extinct

Thu, 03 Dec 2009

British chrysanthemums, one of the UK’s most popular and colourful flowers for more than 200 years, are being wiped out by cheap imports, it has been revealed.

According to newspaper reports, sales of home-grown versions of the flower slumped by 40 per cent in 2008.

Out of the 500 million chrysanthemums sold in the UK over the past 12 months, only 13 million were grown in the UK - less than 3 per cent - and the number is expected to keep on falling.

Growers say the traditional varieties grown in the UK since the 18th century are being killed off by cheap imports from South Africa and Columbia .

Trade magazine The Grocer explained that imports have become cheaper over the years because they are now shipped to Britain rather than flown, which reduces the cost of fuel.

Furthermore, production costs in countries such as South Africa and Columbia are lower as the blooms can be grown without so much artificial help due to the better weather conditions.

Southern Glasshouse Produce, the largest British grower, harvested its final chrysanthemums last month and has now switched to other, more profitable flowers, while the second biggest UK grower Donaldson has also cut the number of blooms it produces.

Andrea Caldecourt, of the UK Flowers and Plants Association said: "It's a sad state of affairs because UK growers were the stalwarts of the flower market ."

"Chrysanthemums are such a low-value product at retail you can't get the margins on them.'"
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