Colombian floriculture navigates changing market conditions

Asocolflores highlights the combined impact of exchange-rate appreciation, rising production costs and U.S. tariffs, while reaffirming the industry’s commitment to its international customers, formal employment and Colombia’s position as a reliable global flower supplier.

Colombian floriculture is navigating one of its most challenging economic environments in recent years. A significant appreciation of the Colombian peso, rising labor and production costs, higher logistics expenses and increased tariffs in the United States are simultaneously putting pressure on the competitiveness of an industry that exports approximately 97% of its production.

For Asocolflores, the concern lies not in any single factor, but in their cumulative effect. “Each of these pressures would be significant on its own. What makes the current environment particularly challenging is that they are occurring simultaneously: our revenues in Colombian pesos have declined considerably while production costs have continued to increase,” says Laura Valdivieso, President of Asocolflores.

© Asocolflores Laura Valdivieso

Exporting more, receiving less
The exchange rate has become one of the most significant challenges for Colombian flower exporters. Flowers are primarily sold internationally in U.S. dollars, while a substantial share of production costs, including wages, local transportation, services and supplies, is paid in Colombian pesos.

The figures illustrate this imbalance clearly. Between January and April 2026, Colombia exported 5.9% more flowers by volume than during the same period in 2025. However, export revenues in U.S. dollars declined by 7.9%. Once converted into Colombian pesos using the average exchange rate for each period, estimated revenues fell by approximately 20.4%.

In other words, Colombian growers are making a greater productive and commercial effort while receiving significantly fewer pesos to cover their domestic costs.

At the same time, those costs have increased substantially.

Floriculture is one of Colombia’s most labor-intensive agricultural industries. Labor represents approximately 60% of the cost structure of a flower farm, according to Asocolflores. The association estimates that the combined impact of the 2026 minimum wage increase, the progressive reduction of the working week and higher night, Sunday and holiday surcharges has increased labor costs by approximately 35%.

Higher agricultural input, transportation and logistics costs add further pressure.

A strategic industry for Colombia
Colombian floriculture has been built over more than five decades into a sophisticated export platform that connects farms, workers, airlines, logistics operators, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers and florists across international markets.

Today, the industry supports approximately 240,000 direct and indirect formal jobs and has a particularly important social footprint through employment opportunities for women and rural communities.

“When we talk about competitiveness, we are talking about much more than companies. We are talking about formal employment, productive capacity, knowledge, investment, communities and commercial relationships that Colombia has built over decades,” Valdivieso says.

This long-term productive capacity is particularly important at a time when global flower markets are facing increasing uncertainty.

Colombia remains a leading global supplier of fresh cut flowers and the largest supplier to the United States. The U.S. market receives close to 80% of Colombian flower exports, supported by decades of commercial relationships and an integrated logistics network that provides American consumers with year-round access to Colombian flowers.

Working together on competitiveness
Asocolflores has been working with Colombian authorities and alongside other agricultural export sectors to explore mechanisms that can help companies navigate the current environment, including foreign-exchange risk management tools, financing alternatives, measures to strengthen competitiveness and continued engagement on trade conditions in key international markets.

“We understand the complexity of the economic environment and we value the openness we have found in our conversations with the Colombian Government. Our approach is to work together; public and the private sector. The question we are asking is: what can we collectively do to preserve the productive capacity and formal employment that export industries generate for Colombia?” Valdivieso says.

For the association, this requires looking at competitiveness as a whole, considering exchange rates, labor costs, logistics, trade conditions and investment together rather than as isolated variables.

A strong industry navigating a difficult cycle
Despite the current pressures, Asocolflores stresses that the fundamentals that have made Colombia a global leader in floriculture remain strong.

The country combines favorable growing conditions, highly skilled workers, sophisticated production capabilities, world-class logistics, an extraordinary diversity of flowers and more than five decades of experience serving international markets.

The industry’s focus is therefore not only on navigating today’s challenges, but on continuing to strengthen productivity, innovation, sustainability, market development and long-term competitiveness.

“Colombian floriculture has demonstrated its resilience many times throughout its history. We have strong companies, extraordinary people and customers around the world who value the quality, diversity and reliability of Colombian flowers. Our priority today is to protect those strengths and ensure that this industry can continue creating value, employment and opportunities for many years to come,” Valdivieso concludes.