Flowers are generally a decorative feature of life to most people.
Tthe production value of the floral market in Taiwan was only about $53 million before the 1970s. When trade association for floral export were established in the 1980s,the development of and international floral markets started.

The idea of urban greening was promoted in the 1990s. Together with the rising of national incomes, the people of Taiwan began to pay attention to the good things in life. At the same time, floral wholesale markets opened all across Taiwan. Combined with computerized online sales, the floral industry in Taiwan was revolutionized and became another cash cow. Take the phalaenopsis as an example, the profit is 15-30% a piece. Although the benefit of floral sales is less than the high-tech industry, the government is treating the floral industry as one of the Taiwan’s strategic industries. Today, the total value of floral production is over $10 billion a year, way beyond initial estimation.

According to the distribution of current floral production values, the demand for cut flowers is still the highest, nurseries and orchids, each 20%, the second highest, and ornamental plants and flower bulbs the third highest. In this case, grasping the timing of floral production and marketing is a big challenge to both the government and suppliers. In terms of

production, the overall growing environment of Taiwan is generally superior to that of other countries. The Netherlands, for instance, has good equipment, plants, know-how and people; however, its climate is not as conducive as that of Taiwan, so it needs more resources and greater costs than Taiwan to maintain the same quality of flora. Unfortunately, local nurseries rely too much on experience and thus the quality of flowers is less stable than that of the Netherlands where mechanization has been applied to floral growing. Domestic flower growers should follow suit.

From the viewpoint of the international market, Taiwan has been actively opening up new markets. For example, Taiwan participated in April 2005 in the Middle East Floral and Gardening Show held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Compared to other leading flower exporting countries, the bright color, low price and high quality flora from Taiwan not only attracted the attention of the audience but also won countless praises. Located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia and Africa, Dubai has recently established the Dubai Floral Center with a capacity of 150,000 tons of cut flowers under the assistance of the Civil Aviation Bureau. While it has convenient transportation and stable political conditions, it is believed that it will bring new opportunities for Taiwan to develop the international floral market.

New species piracy is rampant due to the lag between floral species development and legal protection in Taiwan. The amended Plant Variety and Plant Seed Act was finally implemented on 30 July 2005. According to the Council of Agriculture (COA), the Act has reinforced control over the development, ushering in, use and specification of species. Besides connecting with international specifications, it can help local flower growers apply for intellectual property (IP) rights for new plant species in order to obtain better protection. The COA also continues to develop agricultural biotechnology parks. Between 2003-2008, a sum of $15.1 billion will be invested in the five existing agricultural technology parks to improve the production processes with the aim of stabilizing both

quality and quantity and to strengthen the Taiwanese brands. In the area of marketing, an information system will be established, and packaging and transportation technologies will be developed.

What is noteworthy is that growth of value-added economic crops like flowers is actually a new agricultural practice in Taiwan. Take Huwei for an example, the production system since 1999 has not only turned the paddy fields in the area into an excellent chrysanthemum production center, the chrysanthemum output in the area also equaled 70% of Japan’s chrysanthemum imports. Therefore, the potential is immense.

However, a tough battle is imminent with the open policy of China. The concessions offered by China, such as rent discount, electricity bill allowance etc, have attracted many local flower growers to invest in China. According to President Zhong Guo-zeng of the Taiwan Floral Development Association, though the offer from China is manifold, the environment and quality of Taiwan’s products are still superior to that of China after comparing with the performance of the overall market and the government’s attitude toward the floral industry across the strait. For overseas importers asking for stable quality of flora, they would rather place their orders in Taiwan. According to flower growers who choose to stay on the island, we should neither panic nor follow the fashion to invest in China. Most importantly, it is up to the government and flower growers to create an excellent environment and establish a strong brand image in order to support the future development of the domestic floral industry.