Good day from the Wizard,
We all must take a moment and send our prayers to all the people that Hurricane Ian affected in so many parts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. All the first responders as well as all the people donating time, food, resources, and money deserve a big shout out. We have heard that many trucking companies have donated their equipment to deliver loads filled with life necessities that are very needed in these areas. We are hearing of damage in the green-producing areas of Florida. Our thoughts are with them for a quick recovery. This will further tighten the market on greens, which have already been scarce for a while.
Well, the good news for September is that the iPhone 14 Pro is new and improved with the best camera ever. A great camera to take all your floral videos and pictures is available now!
Now for the real floral news. September was good, but not as good as in 2021. The items that everyone wanted were tight in supply, like snowflake white spray roses, white roses, and, of course, fall color items. Most other items were available without any major issues. The wedding and event predictions based on the chart’s numbers may not have lived up to the original expectations.
Novelty and niche items were in high demand, and dried and preserved flowers are still strong and becoming part of the new normal.
The Wizard is hearing greenhouse production in Europe will be down about 30% or more this coming winter due to increasing heating costs from high natural gas prices. We hear there will be some shortages, mostly on chrysanthemum-related products. I have spoken to some large Colombian growers of these products and they have said European demand is increasing even with the stress on the Euro. They are also experiencing a lot of farm visits from potential new customers and old customers wanting to increase their numbers. One farm told me it has been a revolving door of visitors the past few days from the UK, Germany, and Holland.
The war in the Ukraine has not helped the worldwide flower market. Putin’s antics have caused many situations in the Eastern European market to get worse for the floral trade. Besides natural gas, the area is also a major area for fertilizer production. Prices for fertilizer have hit record highs.
2022 has been a La Niña year. Some growers have reported that in Bogota it has rained every day of 2022. Ecuador’s weather has not been stellar either. The market has been propped up a bit due to this poor weather’s influence on production.
Possibly, the rise in interest rates and the stock market’s recent performance could debunk some recent reports that the floriculture industry shows no signs of slowing down. We have some strange economic conditions taking place at the same time. These conditions don’t usually occur this way, so it is hard to predict what will happen to our beloved industry.
As we know, the cut flower business tends to slow down by mid-October. I do not think this usual trend will be reversed. I hope it does not happen in a worse manner than usual. We have seen the housing industry take a small step backward. Some realtors have said that the number of sold listings was down 13.2% from the year before and that the average number of days on the market has been going up.
To summarize, we are in a totally different world this year. COVID can not be blamed for everything, but it has certainly led us to this uncertain world. Inflation haunts us as well as possible lackluster sales. LET’S HOPE THIS REVERSES ITSELF AND WE ARE BACK TO A GROWING ECONOMY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2022 OR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2023. I’M OPTIMISTIC BECAUSE MANY OTHER ECONOMIC FACTORS ARE POTENTIALLY ALIGNED THE RIGHT WAY FOR A QUICK CHANGE.
Thanks for reading my rants,
The Wizard