Valentines Day Slump for Colombia

WONG:
Colombian flower exporters are tuning up for Valentine's Day despite being hurt by rising labor costs and income received in wilting U.S. dollars, nonetheless two out of every three flowers sold in the United States come from Colombia.


STORY:
Valentine's is the biggest day of the year for Colombian flower producers who employ almost 200,000 people. But this year higher costs driven by inflation and oil prices are making it tougher for the farmers.

is the head of a flower farm in Tocansipa.

[Jose Figueroa, Head of Flower Farm];

"The most important season for us is still around Valentine's Day, the celebration for couples in the United States. During this time we move approximately 30 per cent of the year's total volume. The rest is distributed on the other holidays and parties as much for North American market as for the
European and Russian market."

Figueroa added that the flowers can fetch anywhere from 3 dollars for one flower to 70 dollars for a bouquet.
But despite the busy workers at the flower farm, Colombian plantations, which sell about $1 billion dollars worth of flowers annually, have had to lay off 20,000 workers over the last several years.

The weakening U.S. dollar, which has fallen about 14 percent against the Colombian peso over the last year. That means that exports to the United States are worth less when the sales are translated back into pesos, the currency in which farms pay their rising bills.

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