Double-digit start to the season

Landgard, a German marketing organisation, has announced high rates of growth from its flower and plant business segment in the first four months of 2009. The sales proceeds came to around € 425 mio, which is 20.6 per cent higher than the comparable figure for the same period last year. A figure of 12 per cent is put on organic growth, in addition to which came a substantial expansion of the organisation's international activities in Britain, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands. Pot plants accounted for € 356 mio of the total volume (+26.7 per cent). There were decreases in the case of cut flowers (-1.5 per cent), and horticultural and floristry supplies (-4.6 per cent) as well.