EU exports to Russia and Switzerland are declining

Russia and Switzerland continue to be the most important markets for the export of ornamental plants and flowers from the European Union, accounting for 21.3 per cent and 20.7 per cent respectively. They are followed by the USA (10.2 per cent), Norway (8.8 percent) and China (4.8 per cent). However, according to an analysis carried out by the Co-Concept Agency on behalf of Messe Essen, organisers of the IPM international trade fair for plants, a perceptible decline in exports to Switzerland and Russia in particular has taken place since 2013.
Comparing the first half of 2015 with the same six-month period in previous years, there has been a significant decrease of one quarter of the value within a period of only two years. The EU delivered cut flowers to Russia worth about € 164.6 mio in the first half of 2013, but in 2015 it was only € 123.9 mio. For potted plants, there was a decrease of € 39.5 mio to € 30.2 mio in the same period.
This negative trend affects the Netherlands in particular which, as the strongest EU exporter in the last two years, has lost significant market share in Russia. The value of cut flowers exported to Russia has almost halved for the Netherlands within the last two years from € 136.9 mio to € 66.4 mio, as can be seen in a comparison of the first six months. Exports of potted plants are equally affected; in the first half of 2015, exports dropped by 38 per cent.