THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET ON ANTHURIUMS

The main markets for exported anthuriums are Europe, particularly Germany and Italy, Japan and the United States.

Europe
The largest producer and supplier of anthuriums in the world is the Netherlands, with over 90 ha of greenhouses in production reported; in 2006 the Dutch auctions sold over 84 million anthurium stems worth nearly €46.5 million, an 8% increase over the previous year. Due to airfreight and packing costs only relatively small quantities of anthurium are imported into the EU; the Dutch auctions imported 1.2 million stems in 2006. Most of the plants and flowers traded around Europe – and increasingly in Eastern Europe – are grown in the Netherlands in temperature controlled greenhouses from plant material obtained by tissue culture. This helps avoid diseases such as bacterial rot which is a factor limiting production in many tropical and sub-tropical regions.

The island of Mauritius is the second largest exporter, mainly accessing the Japanese market, but also sending product to Europe and more recently the United States. Newcomers to the group, which are exporting what are yet small quantities of anthuriums to Europe include Sri Lanka, India and Ivory Coast. Anthurium production in Brazil is showing expansion in recent years, and although the domestic market absorbs most of the production some growers are experimenting with exports to Europe, via Portugal and Italy. 

United States
Together with orchids, anthuriums make up 90% of all tropical flowers imported into the United States. The share of imported anthuriums sold in the United States significantly increased between 1996 and 2000, due to severe attacks of bacterial blight (Xanthomonas) affecting production in Hawaii, which reduced production from this state by over 60% during that period. Although Hawaiian production has recovered, this opened the door for importing anthuriums into the United States with several suppliers coming into scene. 

Presently, US consumption is complemented mainly with flowers from Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad), Mexico, Costa Rica, Colombia and others, as well as from Mauritius. Bacterial rots have been a menace to production in the Caribbean islands. The total value and quantity of anthuriums imported annually into the United States has varied over the past decade. In 2006, nearly 420 tons of cut anthuriums were imported to the United States, with a value of US$ 362,000.

Japan
The Japanese market is mainly supplied by countries that are relatively near such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia and more recently China; other countries like India and Sri Lanka are making incursions into this market, as well as the United States (Hawaii) and the Netherlands.

Prices
At the wholesale level, prices for anthuriums show recuperation in the US and presently range around US$ 0.87 (up from US$ 0.78 in 2003 and US$ 0.60 in 2002). Prices in Europe are usually higher, but show a downward tendency, from € 0.63 in 2003 to € 0.55 in 2006, which has been explained by market analysts as a result of increased supply, which puts pressure on prices.
Prices reported in Japan for imported anthurium range around US$ 1.08 on the average; domestically grown flowers are more expensive. White flowers fetch higher prices followed by red and pink.

Sources:
CBI Market survey, The EC Market for Tropical Flowers 2006 the Netherlands; Floriculture and Nursery Crops Yearbook, September 2007, Economic Research Service, USDA; MNS Market News Service - Cut Flowers (ITC) 2007; Pizano, M. 2005, International Market Trends - Tropical Flowers. Acta Hort.(ISHS) 683:79-86.