14 December 2010 brought the end of an era for the UK cut flower industry. On that day, the final crop of chrysanthemums was harvested from the state-of-the-art greenhouses at Donaldsons in Hampshire, following the decision by brothers Alan and Colin Frampton to sell the business to a soft-fruit grower.
Donaldsons was the largest and only major chrysanthemum grower in the country, supplying retailers including Sainsbury’s and Waitrose. Now there are no major UK chrysanthemum growers left; supermarkets wanting to sell chrysanthemums will have to import the blooms.
The Framptons’ decision to sell up follows that of another major grower, Southern Glasshouse Produce (SGP), which decided to stop producing cut flowers and switch to less energy intensive pot plants last year. According to the accounts of SGP for the year to
30 September 2009, the directors cited “increased costs and competition” as the reason.
On the face of it, it seems the death knell is sounding for the intensively produced UK cut flower industry.
According to Chris Hartfield, plant adviser at the NFU, it has become increasingly difficult for UK cut flower producers to make a profit when competing against growers in countries such as Colombia, Egypt and Kenya, with cheaper labour and no need to heat and light greenhouses. “Certain flowers become commodity crops and when that happens, as it has with chrysanthemums and roses, it becomes harder and harder for growers to make a profit - not the kind of profit where the grower can retire early and live a life of luxury - but a basic profit to enable a business to survive.”
Alan Frampton says the decision to sell Donaldsons was made because he and his brother received a good offer for the business, rather than because they were unable to make enough money. “We had a very good year in 2009 and I saw an opportunity and I took it,” he says. “It was nothing to do with the [state of the] cut flower trade.”
However, he does admit rising energy costs have meant that the cost of producing flowers under glass had become far more expensive than rivals from abroad. “High energy crops like carnations and roses that require uniform temperatures and good light levels have moved to parts of the world where these happen naturally,” he says. “Carnations moved in the ’70s, roses in the ’80s and ’90s, and now you have a situation where the cost of producing these crops in northern Europe, with expensive greenhouses and expensive energy costs, mean those crops are now being produced in countries where the climate is much better.
“We had expensive greenhouses and lots of energy going into growing crops that you could produce for very little in places like Africa and South America, especially in the winter time.”
The problems faced by British producers have been mirrored in other European countries. According to Jo Reed of the Dutch Flower Council, the industry in the Netherlands is also under pressure. “There certainly have been some major closures of chrysanthemum growers [in Holland] and the industry has contracted,” he says. “Artificial light is a great deal more expensive than natural light, as are labour costs compared to if you are growing in Africa or South America.
“Also, if you look at the real price of flowers, they haven’t gone up, despite escalating production costs for the last goodness knows how many years, so there is a major squeeze. And the third factor that comes into play is the dominance of the supermarkets with over 70 per cent of cut flower sales.”
While retail prices have increased very little, undoubtedly squeezing some suppliers, Frampton stresses it is important to remember how much the supermarkets have done to increase the market for cut flowers. “Over the last 20 years, sales of flowers have risen dramatically,” he says. “Supermarkets have sourced and delivered a product that the consumer has confidence in. In the past, you wouldn’t see a bloke with a bunch of flowers but now when you’re walking round the supermarket it is no big deal, it is the same as buying a box of Persil. And supermarkets have also brought in a lot of new flowers and mixed bouquets and offered them at a price that has meant people have bought more flowers, which is great.”
According to the Flowers & Plants Association (F&PA), another factor affecting where retailers are sourcing their flowers is developments with seafreighting. The big advantage that European flowers always had was that they didn’t have to be airfreighted - the Kenyan industry suffered badly from the ash cloud. But there have been trials using specialist cooling systems to seafreight flowers and, according to the F&PA, this is becoming a more significant means of transportation, putting a further nail in the coffin of the UK industry.
“Seafreight is the next big thing,” says Caroline Marshall Foster of the F&PA.“Israel built two specially designed ships for the purpose. However, not every flower can be shipped by sea and therefore there will always be a need for both road and air transport and indeed growers in northern Europe. You have to liken it to so many other products in the world; cutlery used to be made in Sheffield, now it’s either countries like Poland or in the Far East.Marks & Spencer underwear was always British-sourced, now it’s made in places like India.It would be wonderful if all flowers and plants could be home grown but it is simply not possible unless consumers are prepared to pay very high prices to cover all the costs, and in a climate where price is king that is unlikely to happen on a mass scale.”
Frampton says this method of transport is the next big development. “There are sea containers now which can get something from Egypt to the UK in seven days. Further afield it can take longer; South America takes 14 days. The key to it has been the control of the environment inside the container. Now they have got containers with controlled environments and they are basically storing the product and reducing respiration so that it is coming in suspension. Sea transport is a big deal. It is much, much cheaper than airfreighting.”
However, despite these set-backs, it seems the UK industry is adapting and can thrive - just with lower-energy crops. Helen Evans of Covent Garden Market Authority says demand for British flowers has increased among florists “ironically at a time when production has declined”, as more consumers request British flowers, especially for occasions such as weddings where pinks, stocks and narcissi can be sourced from the UK, and are strong if grown outdoors.
“There is definitely a sustainable cut flower industry,” adds Frampton. “The UK is a leader in terms of things like daffodils, without question. We are good at bulb crops so seasonal stuff like tulips, lilies, gladioli - the British crops - are fantastic, the low to medium energy stuff.”
While British chrysanthemums may have been consigned to the history books, Marshall Foster is bullish. “When it comes to crops like daffodils and outdoor tulips, we are a tough act to beat,” she says. “Our plant production is second to none.”
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