The value of flower bouquets and related exports dropped by an average -3.1% for all exporting countries since 2018 when comparable shipments were valued at $9 billion.
Year over year, the value of globally exported flower bouquets shrank by -21.3% compared to $11.1 billion during 2021.
The 5 biggest exporters of flower bouquets are the Netherlands, Ecuador, Kenya, Colombia and Ethiopia. Collectively, that cohort of major flower suppliers generated 81.7% of globally exported flower bouquet-related products.
Among continents, supplies in European countries sold the highest dollar value worth of exported flower bouquets during 2022 with shipments amounting to $5.3 billion or 60.6% of the worldwide total. Providers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean generated another 18.4% worth, trailed by African exporters at another 11.9%.
Smaller percentages came from sources in Asia (6.9%), North America (2.1%) and New Zealand, Australia and Papua New Guinea in Oceania (0.1%).
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 0603 for cut flowers and flower buds suitable for bouquets or for ornamental purposes.
Flower Bouquet Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of flower bouquets during 2022.
- Netherlands: US$4.8 billion (54.5% of exported flower bouquets)
- Ecuador: $1 billion (11.7%)
- Kenya: $628.6 million (7.2%)
- Colombia: $490.5 million (5.6%)
- Ethiopia: $229.5 million (2.6%)
- China: $162.1 million (1.9%)
- Italy: $141.2 million (1.6%)
- Canada: $89.9 million (1%)
- Malaysia: $85.9 million (1%)
- Belgium: $68.7 million (0.8%)
- Mexico: $67.8 million (0.8%)
- Thailand: $67.2 million (0.8%)
- Germany: $67 million (0.8%)
- Vietnam: $64.6 million (0.7%)
- Israel: $64.5 million (0.7%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 91.7% of global flower bouquets exported in 2022.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing flower bouquets exporters from 2021 to 2022 were: Mexico (up 52.9%), Thailand (up 15.6%), China (up 12.2%) and Ecuador (up 9.8%).
Major suppliers that posted declines in the international sales of exported flower bouquets were led by: Colombia (down -71.6% from 2021), Belgium (down -53.8%), Israel (down -36.3%), Netherlands (down -17.8%) and Kenya (down -13.4%).
Countries Generating Biggest Surpluses Trading Flowers
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for cut flowers suitable for bouquets during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s flower bouquet exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Netherlands: US$3.7 billion (net export surplus down -18.4% since 2021)
- Ecuador: $1 billion (up 9.8%)
- Kenya: $628.6 million (down -13.4%)
- Colombia: $468.9 million (down -72.6%)
- Ethiopia: $229.4 million (down -9.9%)
- mainland China: $113.2 million (up 31%)
- Malaysia: $73.5 million (down -10.1%)
- Mexico: $67.5 million (up 52.8%)
- Israel: $61.6 million (down -37.8%)
- South Africa: $59.5 million (down -11.3%)
- Türkiye: $45.5 million (down -19%)
- Costa Rica: $44.7 million (up 21.4%)
- Nigeria: $36.7 million (up 112%)
- Taiwan: $36.6 million (down -6.1%)
- Uganda: $34.3 million (up 667.1%)
True to its historical image as a tulip producer, the Netherlands serves as the home country with the highest surplus in the international trade of cut flowers suitable for bouquets. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms the strong competitive advantage that Netherlands has for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Worst Deficits Trading Flowers
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for cut flowers suitable for bouquets during 2022. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s flower bouquet import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$2.4 billion (net export deficit up 14.1% since 2021)
- Germany: -$1.2 billion (down -16.6%)
- United Kingdom: -$848.7 million (up 4.1%)
- France: -$378.1 million (down -13.6%)
- Russia: -$358.3 million (down -27.2%)
- Japan: -$318.3 million (down -4.3%)
- Switzerland: -$200.1 million (down -10.5%)
- Poland: -$191.9 million (up 23.4%)
- Czech Republic: -$111.9 million (down -4.2%)
- Italy: -$107.6 million (up 63.4%)
- Austria: -$102.5 million (down -11.5%)
- Denmark: -$95.2 million (down -29.9%)
- Sweden: -$92.2 million (down -13.9%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$86.3 million (down -6.3%)
- Norway: -$82.2 million (down -10.1%)
The United States of America and Germany incurred billion-dollar plus deficits when it comes to the international trade of cut flowers suitable for bouquets. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights both countries’ strong competitive disadvantages for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for flower bouquet-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand from American and German consumers.
Flower Bouquet Importing Companies
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are examples of multinational cut flower buyers.
- Almacenes Vaca (Mexico)
- Hosley International (United States)
- San Antonio Imports (Mexico)
- Viveres El Triunfo (Mexico)
- WalMart (United States)
Searchable List of Flower Bouquet Exporting Countries in 2022
The top 100 exporting nations documented in the automated database below generated 99.999% of flower bouquet-related goods exported in 2022.
| Rank | Exporter | Flower Exports | 2021-2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Netherlands | $4,758,150,000 | -17.8% |
| 2. | Ecuador | $1,017,762,000 | +9.8% |
| 3. | Kenya | $628,574,000 | -13.4% |
| 4. | Colombia | $490,467,000 | -71.6% |
| 5. | Ethiopia | $229,495,000 | -9.8% |
| 6. | China | $162,118,000 | +12.2% |
| 7. | Italy | $141,206,000 | -6.8% |
| 8. | Canada | $89,875,000 | +9.6% |
| 9. | Malaysia | $85,910,000 | -5% |
| 10. | Belgium | $68,658,000 | -53.8% |
| 11. | Mexico | $67,798,000 | +52.9% |
| 12. | Thailand | $67,181,000 | +15.6% |
| 13. | Germany | $67,049,000 | +1.7% |
| 14. | Vietnam | $64,642,000 | +4.2% |
| 15. | Israel | $64,480,000 | -36.3% |
| 16. | South Africa | $63,580,000 | -9.7% |
| 17. | Spain | $63,049,000 | -9.4% |
| 18. | Türkiye | $49,500,000 | -16.7% |
| 19. | Costa Rica | $45,117,000 | +21.6% |
| 20. | Taiwan | $40,248,000 | -4.5% |
| 21. | Nigeria | $36,805,000 | +112.2% |
| 22. | Uganda | $34,448,000 | +668.9% |
| 23. | Lithuania | $33,988,000 | +23.1% |
| 24. | Guatemala | $30,702,000 | +14.5% |
| 25. | Latvia | $28,330,000 | +141.4% |
| 26. | United Kingdom | $27,788,000 | -6% |
| 27. | United States | $26,285,000 | +0.4% |
| 28. | Poland | $25,545,000 | -18% |
| 29. | France | $23,984,000 | -23% |
| 30. | India | $22,154,000 | +11.9% |
| 31. | Denmark | $13,222,000 | +4.3% |
| 32. | Portugal | $12,323,000 | -11.6% |
| 33. | Armenia | $11,718,000 | +55% |
| 34. | Japan | $11,599,000 | -5.3% |
| 35. | Peru | $9,766,000 | +13% |
| 36. | Morocco | $9,180,000 | +10.7% |
| 37. | New Zealand | $8,902,000 | -25.4% |
| 38. | Zimbabwe | $8,845,000 | +172.7% |
| 39. | Czech Republic | $8,328,000 | -1.9% |
| 40. | Chile | $7,702,000 | +20.1% |
| 41. | Zambia | $6,861,000 | -27.3% |
| 42. | Tanzania | $6,782,000 | -7.8% |
| 43. | Hungary | $6,653,000 | +11.1% |
| 44. | Singapore | $6,254,000 | -11.9% |
| 45. | Rwanda | $4,558,000 | -45.8% |
| 46. | Indonesia | $3,908,000 | -2.3% |
| 47. | South Korea | $3,621,000 | -45.2% |
| 48. | Australia | $3,321,000 | -17.4% |
| 49. | Luxembourg | $3,228,000 | +40.7% |
| 50. | Kazakhstan | $2,693,000 | +10.1% |
| 51. | Egypt | $2,494,000 | +17.3% |
| 52. | Austria | $1,946,000 | -59% |
| 53. | Ukraine | $1,531,000 | -55.7% |
| 54. | Lebanon | $1,381,000 | +76.1% |
| 55. | Finland | $1,141,000 | +200.3% |
| 56. | Ivory Coast | $1,090,000 | +3.2% |
| 57. | Slovakia | $1,046,000 | -80.3% |
| 58. | Greece | $947,000 | +89.8% |
| 59. | Pakistan | $911,000 | -42.3% |
| 60. | Croatia | $866,000 | +6% |
| 61. | Bulgaria | $822,000 | -53.7% |
| 62. | Philippines | $536,000 | -71.7% |
| 63. | Uzbekistan | $495,000 | +16.7% |
| 64. | Ghana | $480,000 | -3.2% |
| 65. | Hong Kong | $472,000 | -41.1% |
| 66. | Ireland | $395,000 | +80.4% |
| 67. | Iran | $343,000 | -95% |
| 68. | Russia | $334,000 | -72% |
| 69. | Azerbaijan | $301,000 | +186.7% |
| 70. | Sweden | $288,000 | -79.9% |
| 71. | Serbia | $286,000 | -34.4% |
| 72. | Cameroon | $256,000 | -36.6% |
| 73. | Slovenia | $255,000 | -42.2% |
| 74. | Mauritius | $223,000 | +1.4% |
| 75. | Tunisia | $212,000 | +360.9% |
| 76. | Sri Lanka | $177,000 | +1.7% |
| 77. | Senegal | $170,000 | -48.8% |
| 78. | Romania | $170,000 | +142.9% |
| 79. | Honduras | $169,000 | 0% |
| 80. | Laos | $138,000 | -49.3% |
| 81. | Dominican Republic | $129,000 | -40% |
| 82. | Brazil | $119,000 | -72.9% |
| 83. | Nicaragua | $113,000 | -8.9% |
| 84. | Myanmar | $100,000 | -76.5% |
| 85. | Belarus | $60,000 | -99.6% |
| 86. | Georgia | $53,000 | -39.1% |
| 87. | Switzerland | $51,000 | +2% |
| 88. | Saint Lucia | $41,000 | +64% |
| 89. | St Kitts/Nevis | $36,000 | +1100% |
| 90. | Mali | $29,000 | -43.1% |
| 91. | Panama | $27,000 | +92.9% |
| 92. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $24,000 | +300% |
| 93. | Lesotho | $23,000 | 0% |
| 94. | Togo | $23,000 | -58.9% |
| 95. | Qatar | $21,000 | 0% |
| 96. | United Arab Emirates | $18,000 | -97.1% |
| 97. | Suriname | $17,000 | -37% |
| 98. | Papua New Guinea | $16,000 | 0% |
| 99. | Equatorial Guinea | $16,000 | 0% |
| 100. | Syrian Arab Republic | $10,000 | -52.4% |
Expanding the scope to the 100 leading flower exporters, the fastest-growing suppliers of flowers on international markets are Saint Kitts and Nevis (up 1,100% compared to 2021), Uganda (up 668.9%), Tunisia (up 360.9%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (up 300%) then Finland (up 200.3%).
Note that you can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below.
An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that no 2021 data was available.
Average Prices for Major Flower Bouquet Exporters
Among the top exporters of cut flowers and flower buds suitable for bouquets or ornamental purposes, the following 20 countries report their statistics by shipment weight in tons. Countries like Canada and the United States report their average unit prices per unit, not tons.
The top 20 exporters below are listed in order ranked by highest value per ton for international flower sales.
- Luxembourg: US$97,818 per ton of exported flowers (down -53.1% from 2021)
- Austria: $28,203 per ton (down -22.2%)
- Georgia: $26,500 per ton (up 2093.7%)
- Japan: $25,662 per ton down -17.9%)
- Switzerland: $25,500 per ton down -49%)
- Chile: $15,946 per ton (up 11.9%)
- New Zealand: $15,563 per ton down -25.9%)
- Finland: $14,443 per ton (up 90%)
- Taiwan: $14,338 per ton (up 6.5%)
- Mauritius: $13,938 per ton (up 45.7%)
- Sweden: $13,714 per ton down -18.7%)
- Panama: $13,500 per ton down -3.6%)
- Israel: $12,781 per ton down -21.6%)
- Togo: $11,500 per ton (up 433.9%)
- Egypt: $11,285 per ton down -10.3%)
- Tunisia: $11,158 per ton (up 166.8%)
- France: $10,857 per ton down -24.4%)
- Ukraine: $10,345 per ton down -39.9%)
- Slovenia: $10,200 per ton down -26%)
- Croatia: $9,841 per ton down -7.2%)
The strongest growth for the listed exporters of flower bouquets and related goods were recorded by Georgia (up 2,094% from 2021), Togo (up 433.9%), Tunisia (up 166.8%) and Finland (up 90%).
The most economical 20 exporters are presented below.
- Sri Lanka: US$4 per ton of exported flowers (down -99.9% from 2021)
- Burkina Faso: $63 per ton (down -94.4%)
- Nicaragua: $198 per ton down -2.5%)
- Suriname: $515 per ton down -6.5%)
- Spain: $652 per ton down -68.8%)
- Guatemala: $1,473 per ton down -0.3%)
- Kyrgyzstan: $1,500 per ton down -33.3%)
- Nigeria: $1,616 per ton (up 375.3%)
- Laos: $1,624 per ton (up 88.2%)
- Palestine: $1,667 per ton down -89.4%)
- Myanmar: $1,724 per ton (up 134.6%)
- Senegal: $1,977 per ton down -22%)
- Dominican Republic: $1,985 per ton (up 3.4%)
- Syria: $2,000 per ton down -61.9%)
- Kazakhstan: $2,198 per ton (up 5.9%)
- Armenia: $2,344 per ton down -0.1%)
- Indonesia: $2,356 per ton down -20.9%)
- Bulgaria: $2,390 per ton down -0.6%)
- Belarus: $2,400 per ton (up 1.4%)
- India: $2,420 per ton down -0.8%)
The greatest declines for the relatively low-cost exporters belong to those in Sri Lanka (down -99.9% from 2021), Burkina Faso (up -94.4%), Palestine (up -89.4%), Spain (down -68.8%) and Syria (down -61.9%).
See also Netherlands Top 10 Exports, Netherlands Top Trading Partners, Perfumes Exporters by Country Plus Average Prices, Beauty Cosmetics and Skincare Exports by Country and Top Sunglasses Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on Aug 5, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on Aug 5, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on Aug 5, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on Aug 5, 2023
Wikipedia, Cut flowers. Accessed on Aug 5, 2023
Zepol’s company summary highlights by HTS code. Accessed on Aug 5, 2023
