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Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation
Export flower industry - A review of recorded statistics
by Sally SuttonDecember 2002
RIRDC Publication No 02/130 RIRDC Project No FEC-7A
This report presents information about the size and nature of the Australian flower export industry.
The report gives information on the patterns and levels of flower exports across a range of important variables. Seasonal information on the categories of flower exports as well as their state of origin and destination market is presented. This report is the first publication listing seasonal variations in the Australian flower export industry.
The results bring out patterns in the flower export industry. Seasonal trends and the strength of particular flower categories and export markets are clear. Generally, there appears to be a low period in the March and June quarters. Fresh flowers occupy the great majority of the current market.
Within the fresh flower category, Other Australian Species and Fresh Artificially Propagated Waxflowers are dominant. Japan, the USA and the Netherlands are the major export markets.
The results given in this report confirm market trends, seasonal patterns and product demands. These results can be used to generate and support marketing and production strategies. Reviewing data on the levels and types of exports makes it possible to ensure alternative products are targetted in low periods and that demand matches supply. Environmental strategies can be implemented given figures from fresh wild picked categories.
The results suggest that the dollar value and volume of flowers exported from Australia have been underestimated for a considerable period. This report indicates that current figures may underestimate the industry size by as much as 30%. It is important that accurate data for this export industry is obtained to encourage further investment, employment, and focused research and development.
Methodological uncertainties in the current analysis are exposed. Despite many clear trends, the findings reported are made complex by unclarity in current measurements, and the lack of any holistic means of crossvalidating the current data. Despite recent revisions to the classifications used for measurement, this study demonstrates that the categories need to be further refined. To this end, a list of specific suggestions is given. The report also develops a rationale for obtaining additional and different forms of data capable of providing more accurate and reliable measurement of the industry.
In addition to the substantive results, therefore, methodological suggestions are made for increasing the efficiency and accuracy of future studies.
A number of recommendations are made:
1. Additional production and export figures on the value of the industry need to be gathered from a range of sources both inside and outside Australia. This information can then be used to establish the reliability and validity of ABS data, particularly the dollar value estimates.
2. An independent audit of exporters and possibly certain growers should be undertaken to crossvalidate production and export statistics.
3. Additional data on exports should be obtained from significant export markets, including Japan, the USA and the Netherlands. This can be used to crossvalidate current ABS estimates.
4. Marketing strategies for the dried flower industry need to be investigated. It is possible that dried flower exports could make a particular contribution during the low March and June periods.
5. AHECC relating to the current industry need to be refined. The redefinition is particularly necessary in the case of a few categories which have current dominance. New categories have been proposed in this report.
6. Interstate flower movements need to be collated, as this is valuable information.
7. From an industry perspective, it may be useful to examine seasonal complementarities of export countries and regions, particularly between the Asian and European markets.
8. Quantitative analysis of the Australian flower export market should be undertaken on an annual basis. These need to develop better means of diagnosing export patterns and developing explanatory models which can be used in developing production and marketing strategies.
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