54
BUSINESS
Text by AARON GRUNWALD
Photography by JAN HANRION
A BLOOMING MARKET
GET THE PICTURE
71%
89
Number of floral shops in Luxembourg selling cut flowers. (3)
42,707 TONNES Flowers made up 4.8% of the total tonnes flown by Cargolux last year.
€60 SPRING FLOWERS
Between Easter and Mother’s Day, springtime means big business for European fresh flower sellers. (1) (2) That is certainly the case in Luxembourg, where annual consumption of cut flowers per person “is nearly twice the number than” the rest of the Greater Region, according to Andreas Löbke of CO Concept, a marketing consultancy in Luxembourg City. It is also a busy time for one of the Grand
April 2016
Duchy’s major employers. “The transport of flowers is a small, but very important part of our product portfolio,” says a spokeswoman for Cargolux. The Findel-based freight airline flies from growing hubs like Bogota, Nairobi and Quito to Amsterdam, where major flower auctions are held. “We generally have increased demand for flower transportation” surrounding Mother’s Day. Across Europe roses remain the most popular flower for
Amount spent annually on cut flowers per head in Luxembourg, compared to €38 in Rheinland-Pfalz and Saarland, €30 in Belgium and €28 in Lorraine. (3) The average across the entire EU is €27. (1)
MOTHER’S DAY
Celebrated in Ireland and the UK on 6 March; in Belgium, Germany and the US on 8 May; in France on 29 May; and in Luxembourg on 12 June this year. (5)
Sources: (1) International Florist Organisation; (2) International Trade Centre; (3) CO Concept; (4) Cargolux; (5) timeanddate.com. All figures are from the most recent year available.
Luxembourg consumers who buy cut flowers-69% of men and 74% of women. (3)