A `Land of Flowers'

Presently, the total annual value of the flower industry in Taiwan is slightly more than NT$10 billion. Of this, more than NT$3.2 billion of business is in cut flowers, said Tom Chang (張堂穆), of the Taipei Flower Auction Company(台北花卉產銷公司). Nursery stocks represent roughly 40 percent of trading volumes and potted plants account for 10 percent of the market share.

Zhanghua County is now ambitiously committing nearly 5,000 hectares of land for flower growing in an attempt to account for 46 percent of the country's total plantation area.

Kevin Chung (鍾國成), general manager of the Taiwan Floriculture Development Association(台灣區花卉發展協會), said that in addition to the prosperous domestic market, Taiwan's flower industry had been tapping into international markets in recent years.

With its tropical and sub-tropical weather, Taiwanese flowers such as the Formosan moth orchard (台灣蝴蝶蘭), flaming lily (火鶴), Christmas flower (聖誕紅), guzmania (鳳梨花) and various cut flowers are increasingly being transported to Europe, North America, Hawaii and Japan. Taiwan's flower export trade revenues in 2000 were US$47,237,000. This trade figure ranks 18 among international flower exporting countries and in Asia is only surpassed by Thailand, which is ranked 16 with an export value of US$64,167,000.

Chen said Taiwan's flower growers competed on level terms internationally in terms of variety, production skills, packaging and control of flower farming and the size of the Hsichou Flower Expo 2004 shows just how determined local growers are to build the country into a flower kingdom, through skilful management and plantation of tropical and sub-tropical plants and flowers. The show is a milestone for the local floral industry, which is set to grow further and perhaps even one day rival Holland.