Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai, April 12th Title: The annual output value exceeds 500 billion yuan! The "flower economy" has blossomed all the way

Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Jianuo

Macaron-colored phalaenopsis orchids, chrysanthemums that "dye" gradient petals, wax balls with red red flowers that can bloom without watering and fertilizing...

The 3-day 27th China International Flower and Horticultural Exhibition ended in Shanghai on the 12th. About 700 exhibitors from nearly 30 countries and regions have used flowers as media to jointly create a "beautiful feast" of the competition of thousands of flowers, providing us with a new perspective for observing the "flower economy".

My country is the world's largest flower producer. Data from the China Flower Association shows that there are nearly 220,000 seedlings and flower enterprises in my country, with an annual output value of more than 520 billion yuan. In 2024, my country's total flower import and export trade volume was US$782 million, an increase of 10% year-on-year, of which the export volume was US$516 million, an increase of 17.78% year-on-year.

The colors are more colorful and the shapes are more unique... You will find that the flower market is constantly innovative. Flowers not only add color to the environment, but also convey new market demands, reflect new industrial development, and "beautify" a better life.

Grab the new consumption trends, make more variety and higher added value-

Make colors more popular. Walking into the booth of Colorful Horticulture (China) Co., Ltd., flowers bloom into a light pink ocean.

"In the past two years, we have found that consumers prefer light-colored varieties, so we focus on strengthening the cultivation of flowers of different colors. The new rose varieties we brought this time such as jade fat and Longines are very popular," said Liu Tianping, director of Blooming Gardening and Breeding.

Make flowers more "literary". "This year we brought our own gift box colorful taro. The exquisite packaging and text illustrations have expanded the extension of flowers. The integration of flowers and culture also provides consumers with emotional value." said Yang Juan, vice president of Shanghai Flower Gardening Group Co., Ltd.

In addition to beautiful flowers, in recent years, leaf-viewing plants such as staghorn fern and Monstera have also become beautiful in the hearts of consumers.

Huang Junheng, general manager of Zhengguang Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Guangdong Province, observed that some leaf-viewing plants are relatively rare and popular in the domestic market.

"Market demand is the weather vane for our research and development." Huang Junheng said that the company has spent nearly two years successfully expanding and allowing more domestic flower lovers to have their favorite leaf-viewing plants.

Achieve new breakthroughs in supply, make the scent of technology stronger and the industrial chain more practical -

Behind the new changes in consumption are new changes in the industry.

Add flowers, extend flowering period, bloom regularly, save endangered... The reporter found that the "carving" of technology makes the "flower economy" more diverse, opening up a broader space for the development of the flower industry.

Li Xiugang, deputy general manager of Beijing Jingpeng Global Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that the smart greenhouse launched by the company can intelligently manage the temperature, light, water, gas and fertilizer required for plant growth, and regulate the flowering and fruiting time of plant growth. "Plants mature regularly are no longer new to the industry."

The seven-color flowers in fairy tales can also be reflected in reality through technology.

"We use technical means to absorb food coloring into the petals, so that a flower has colorful colors." said Xu Linjun, general manager of Zhejiang Fengdao Co., Ltd.

The freshly cut flowers of dyed chrysanthemums on display at the exhibition site - "Blue and White Porcelain". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Han Jianuo

"By artificially pollinating the 'giant panda' among flowers, Paphiolenum, to enhance its advantageous characteristics, we continue to save and expand rare categories." said Deng Kelan, head of Guizhou Qiannanzhou Green Eco-Flora Technology Development Co., Ltd.

The expansion of the flower industry is inseparable from seed industry innovation.

At this exhibition, Zhou Xiaoyun, chairman of Guangzhou Flower Research Center Co., Ltd., brought new varieties of Anthracites independently developed - Meijiao, Fumei, Caidian, Daqiao, and the new pineapple variety Hongruyi. As soon as it appeared, it attracted the attention of many new and old customers and was interested in trying to plant it.

"Before 2009, there was no independent intellectual property rights in China. Through the continuous innovation and development of breeders and the cultivation of new varieties, new domestic anthracite varieties have been cultivated one after another." Zhou Xiaoyun, who has been engaged in flower research for more than 20 years, said.

The "Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Flower Industry" jointly issued by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2022 has put forward the development goals of my country's flower industry, which clearly states that by 2025, the flower seed industry innovation system will be basically established, and the market share of independent intellectual property flower varieties will steadily increase.

"my country's flower application scenarios are rich and consumption potential is huge. The proportion of international exhibitors participating this year is nearly 26%, which shows the attractiveness of the Chinese market to the world." said Wu Jianghong, vice president of the Shanghai Flower Association, chairman and general manager of Shanghai National Exhibition and Exhibition Center Co., Ltd.

The beautiful blooming flowers pave the way for the vast number of flower farmers to get rich, show the vigorous vitality of industrial development, and release new economic vitality that is constantly stimulated from buying flowers to appreciating flowers. Through the flower exhibition, my country's "flower economy" is constantly changing and blooming all the way.