Eighty percent of flower that hoi polloi purchase in the US are import , and roughly two - third gear of the efflorescence eat in the US are spell through Miami International Airport and PortMiami . This makes fresh cut flowers Miami Dade County ’s numeral one perishable import . Over the eld , the issue of peak that are being ship via ocean has increased , and PortMiami , the largest destination port for cut flower in the United States , also sees this trend in their statistics as bloom imports billow 28.4 pct in 2023 , equate to 2022 . Also , for Valentine ’s Day , which was celebrated yesterday , numbers are up compared to last yr .
Fresh cut flowers and the maritime industryPortMiami leads the maritime manufacture as the large destination of thinned flowers in the United States coming via sea watercraft . In 2023 , roughly 52 % of all maritime flower consequence , a total of 2,908 TEUs , were moved through PortMiami . The Port of San Diego followed with 21 % of maritime heyday importee . PortMiami increased its import volumes by 22 % in 2022 when compared to the same period in 2021 and by 1045 % when compared to 2020 intensity . PortMiami cut flower significance come from two main country – Colombia with 55 % of the sum and Ecuador with 42 % of full moment . PortMiami encounter $ 52.3 million in reduce flowers in 2022 , a 14.3 % step-up over the $ 38.1 million received in 2021 . In 2023 , PortMiami ’s flower importee surged another 28.4 % , amount to 428 million stems , increasing 94.8 million stanch equate to 2022 . A PortMiami Record .
With two express services from Colombia and Ecuador , Seaboard Marine is the top provider of cut flower at PortMiami . " This is due in large part to PortMiami ’s fantabulous reefer technologies , which guarantee bracing flowers from the farms in Latin America to the retailer in the US , " they say .
smart cut flowers and Valentine ’s DayValentine ’s Day is one of the bounteous vacation for flower leverage in the US . And over the past 10 old age . cutting off flower imports to the US have increased by over 30 % . " Today , Miami is the proverbial Ellis Island for flowers . about 76 million stems move through PortMiami during this Valentine ’s Day season ( 2024 . ) The majority of the stems make out from Colombia ( 44 % ) , with 27 % amount from Guatemala and 24 % from Ecuador . "
Roses are the number one choice of flowers for romantics . " In fact , approximately 30 % of the stems imported are rosebush , followed by ferns ( 12 % ) , bouquets of roses ( 12 % ) , chrysanthemums ( 4 % ) and miscellaneous bouquets ( 6 % . ) "
The upward trend of cut flower to Miami via water increase again this Valentine ’s Day . Comparing the fresh - swerve flower imports from January 1 to February 13 , between 2023 and 2024 , there has been a notable increment in base numeration . " In 2023 , during this period , the total number of stems imported stood at 73,450,293 . In contrast , for the same timeframe in 2024 , the prow count rose to 76,017,413 stems . This demonstrates a evident uptick in requirement for impudent flowers , indicating a acquire food market for floral imports during this specific menstruum . This increase further spotlight the signification of PortMiami as a crucial entry item for floral imports into the United States , reaffirm its status as the Maritime Flower Hub of the nation . "
For more information : PortMiami1015 N. America Way , 2nd FloorMiami , Florida 33132Tel . : 305 - 347 - 4800Fax : 305-347-4852www.miamidade.gov
© FloralDaily.com/Elita Vellekoop
