Is Colombia’s flower power under threat?

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 9 April 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Colombia has emerged as the world's second-biggest exporter of cut flowers, and the largest supplier to the United States.

Local growers suffered a scare this year when US president Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of 50% on imports from Colombia. The dispute was quickly resolved but, even so, the threat of tariffs remains.

And the sector faces other challenges, particularly around sustainability. We visit a flower farm in Colombia and go to Bogota airport to see how the country exports this most delicate and perishable of goods.

We also talk to an academic who says the industry is changing rapidly, with an emphasis on growing flowers locally rather than flying them around the world.

If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]

Presented and produced by Gideon Long

(Picture: A female employee handling roses at a flower farm, Flores de los Andes, near Bogotá, Colombia. Credit: BBC)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service with me, Gideon Long.
0:07.0	Today I'm reporting from Colombia, where back in January, exporters got a real scare.
0:15.1	President Trump says he will impose wide-ranging sanctions and tariffs on Colombia
0:20.3	after it refused to allow two US military aircraft deporting migrants to land.
0:25.8	All Colombia's exporters were thrown into panic,
0:28.5	but none more so than those in the country's cut flower industry.
0:32.5	The South American nation is the second biggest exporter of flowers in the world,
0:36.7	and most of them go to the US.
0:38.7	When that happened, we were extremely worried.
0:42.1	This was just two weeks before Valentine's Day, the busiest day of the year.
0:46.9	Valentines, we had around 1,400 flights.
0:51.1	The United States and other countries, but 90% in Valentine's, they go to the US.
0:56.5	Fortunately for the flower growers, that initial spat between Colombia and the US was resolved
1:01.1	quickly, although like a lot of countries, Colombia was hit by US tariffs in early April.
1:06.5	And the industry faces other issues too, particularly over sustainability and its carbon footprint.
1:12.6	People often tell me they check their tomatoes and see how far they've travelled.
1:17.1	People might not yet do that for their flowers, but that might be one thing that people start to do.
1:23.3	That's the Colombian flower industry and the challenges it faces.
1:26.7	Coming up on today's Business Daily.
1:33.6	Make sure your seatbelt is faster and a two seat.
1:36.3	The seat back in your right position, your window shade open.
1:39.8	If you fly into the Colombian capital, Bogota,
	...

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