On February 14th, the traditional Western Valentine’s Day is approaching, and many people will express their love with flowers. To meet the high demand in the largest flower market of the year, flower farmers and traders in Colombia, South America, are busy packaging freshly cut flowers to export around the world, especially to the United States.
Before every Valentine’s Day, flower traders in Colombia are incredibly busy, working day and night to harvest, select, and package flowers to meet the lively demand from over a hundred countries worldwide. In fact, many local flower farmers began preparing for this warm and romantic holiday as early as six months ago.
Colombia is the world’s second largest flower-exporting country after the Netherlands. Thanks to its advantageous geographical location and exceptional natural conditions, Colombia produces flowers of excellent quality. The flowers here have longer stems, bigger buds, more vibrant colors, and a wide variety, each filled with exotic charm, making them beloved by people all over the world.
The high demand for Colombian flowers has naturally created vast employment opportunities in the region. Every year, the flower industry creates no less than 200,000 job positions, with rural women being the majority of beneficiaries. Particularly, many young girls are happy to take on these short-term jobs during holidays because they believe this is a job that can convey love.
According to data from the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters (Asocolflores), during last year’s (2024) Valentine’s Day period, Colombia exported over 52,000 tons of fresh flowers. Among them, 76% were sold to the United States, followed by Russia, Japan, and the United Kingdom, accounting for 5%, 4%, and 3% respectively. The largest exported flower category was roses, followed by carnations, chrysanthemums, hydrangeas, and lilies.
Below are images of fresh flowers and busy staff from a flower farm named “Flowers of the Andes” in Bogota, the capital of Colombia: