Imported flowers take bloom off local industry

Imported flowers take bloom off local industry

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The sky is still dark, the sun has not come up yet, but the
Rawabelong flower market in West Jakarta is already bustling with
activity.

Thousands of different varieties of cut flowers are sent to
the market each day, some in refrigerated containers, others on
the backs of motorcycles, in pick-up trucks and minivans.

The market itself is small, with less than 100 traders, but
there is no end to the flowers that come in from all over
Indonesia. Although small in size, the Rawabelong flower market
is considered one of the biggest centers of the flower trade in
the country.

Most of the flowers come from Cipanas, Sukabumi and Bogor in
West Java, including gladiola, chrysanthemums, asters and
orchids. But others come from farther away, such as tuberoses and
jasmine from Ambarawa, Central Java, and roses from Malang, East
Java.

"Flowers come in starting very early in the morning, sometimes
at two or three in the morning," a trader said, adding that the
flowers were harvested from nurseries in the late afternoon of
the previous day.

Indonesia is home to more than 35,000 species of flowers, and
has just about the most complete collection of orchids in the
world. However, despite all this, Indonesia's flower industry has
yet to bloom in full.

For instance, according to the Indonesian Flower Association
(Asbindo) there were only 3,638 hectares of land under
cultivation for cut flowers in Indonesia in 2000, compared to
7,000 hectares in Thailand in 1995 and 34,000 hectares of land in
India the same year.

Exports of cut flowers from Indonesia only amounted to
US$6,659 in 2000, while in 1995 Thailand exported more than $80
million worth of cut flowers, or 2.1 percent of the world's
exports of $3.72 billion.

Japan is Asia's main market for cut flowers, but instead of
exporting directly to this country, Indonesia's cut flowers are
exported to Singapore which then re-exports them after hiking
prices by more than 100 percent, according to the association.

Many factors contribute to the problems faced by the industry.
According to an analysis by the central bank on the Indonesian
cut flower industry, Indonesia's reliance on imported seeds was
one of the main problems, explaining that this adds to the cost
of production by about 30 percent to 35 percent.

Transportation is another hurdle in the industry, with
airlines preferring to carry more lucrative and durable goods
than flowers.

Furthermore, the analysis showed that Indonesian
horticulturalists preferred to grow leafy plants, which are in
demand locally, rather than the more export-oriented flowering
plants.

"International demand for floriculture is composed of 55
percent flowers, 5 percent orchids and the rest leafy plants;
while in Indonesia it is 60 percent for leafy plants, 25 percent
orchids and 15 percent cut flowers," the report said.

In addition, the practice of buying flowers for one's own
personal use is virtually unknown in Indonesia, leaving the
purchase of cut flowers for special occasions such as birthdays,
weddings and funerals.