Country file

Brazils gems jumping

Associated growers in the Brazilian
northeastern coastal area have taken
the lead in tropical flower cultivation
in their country. Now that European
countries are their main customers,
history has gone full circle with requests
from those who have acquired a taste
for the exotic. Flower Tech went
tropical and paid a visit to the states of
Alagoas and Pernambuco.
By Mauricio C. Mathias
Flowers are only sent to Comflora once requests have come in, and then the product is re-checked and boxed.

ven though one cannot speak of

an established chain of tropical
flowers in Brazil yet, something
new has definitely been started.
The new growers achievements are not
small: job creation, growing exports, turning existing plants into a new business,
change of the consumer profile with more
men buying flowers. And above all: popularisation of flower consumption the
greatest challenge of the Brazilian flower
sector, plagued with low per capita sales.
This could only be the beginning, tropical

flower consultant Alonso Lamas stresses,

who has written books on the subject. In
a country with nearly 200 native
Heliconias (out of 400 existing), the same
dozen species dominate the market, so
further diversification is a must.
The sector has made its first steps and is
becoming more professional; their level of
co-operation is something refreshing to
see among Brazilian growers. This concerted action towards the market gives hope
to a true sector development, instead of
the survival of only a few big companies.
Both the states of Alagoas and
Pernambuco are dreaming of a main
regional flower market in the northeast,
something not to be ruled out considering
the current pace of development.

Alagoas
Alagoas may be one of Brazils smallest
states, but it is one of the countrys largest
tropical flower producers with an estimated 186 ha. While sugar cane has been a
monoculture in its cropland for centuries,
providing mainly seasonal jobs, tropical
flowers are a business option and a tentative source of year round employment.
Curiously, growing flowers in Alagoas

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FlowerTECH 2006, vol. 9/no. 1

has been an occupation almost exclusively

for women. Their common interest started
in 1997 when a group of ladies met at a
floral arranging course at Sebrae (a semigovernment advisory agency supporting
small businesses). At the end of this
course, half of the class had decided to
grow tropical flowers instead. Afloral, a
growers association was funded with 40
members and it still remains the sectors
umbrella organisation. Since then the
number of growers has decreased, but
acreage has increased. Sebraes manager
explains: We found out that Alagoas was
perfectly suited for these crops, it just didnt have a growing tradition.

Local grower
Emlia Flores Tropicais has the biggest
hectarage, 4 ha at one location, and 22 ha
at a location 130 km away. The smaller
plot is at the family country house, which
has since been surrounded by city sprawl.
Taking advantage of this a packing shed
and wholesale store have been added,
where she sells mostly to decorators from
the city, who have discovered Etlingera
and other plants exotic appeal. It began
as a hobby, then we sold some excess

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Country file

out of a niche market

duction, the import of flowers are taxed
an additional 25%. Another challenge, to
conquer new markets, is gaining knowledge about handling this new product.
The cold chain, so necessary to the post
harvest of temperate flowers is a problem
for tropical flowers, which spoil near
freezing temperatures.

Private company

Post harvest: some flowers are kept in hydrating baths at pH 4 during 2 hours.

plants and it became serious when I started supplying a flower shop, says owner
Emla Paiva.
First, I went to Cear to see the rose
greenhouses, where I saw professional systems. The first thing I did when I returned
was to install an irrigation system.
Following a group visit to Costa Rica in
2002, where we saw the potential for large
scale production, we expanded to the new
site.
More experienced since their first export
experience in 1998 to the UK, they invested in diversification with 25 flower types,
automated drip irrigation and a new packhouse. Now we have clients in Portugal,
Canada and the US, she adds. Another
lesson from Costa Rica: 10 ha in this new
plot holds 47 types of foliage (like
Cordyline and palm leaves) instead of
exclusively flowers. Both flowers and
leaves are used in bouquets; the fastestgrowing segment among operations of all
sizes, add value to the plants. It requires
plant variety and packing space though. In
a typical shed, bouquets are prepared in
assembly-line fashion after a series of
hydrating baths with anti-fungi and bacteria solutions, after flowers are cleaned,

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trimmed and checked for insects. Nonstandard plants can still be used in
arrangements, since each one is unique,
requiring stems of different lengths.
Following Sebraes advice, exporting has
been the target of most growers right from
the start. It only diminishes during
European summers, when due to the vacation period, people normally buy less
flowers. And, since its the EU peak pro-

Flora Atlntica, although not a coop, is a

private company that unites production of
11 independent growers of the coastal
region 10 of them, women. Their own
store in Macei sells 50% of their flowers,
such as cut bromeliads. They export 30%,
and the remainder goes to So Paulo or
Rio de Janeiro. Interestingly, Musas and
Calatheas are attractive novelties in these
main urban centres as much as they are
overseas a few times customers have
touched the flowers to check if they are
not plastic.
Running the store are growers Regina
Barros and Cleide Fontes, who tell that
their clientele has been growing 50% yearly and local sales increase from Thursday
to Saturday, when people prepare their
homes with flowers for the weekend. Their
first export was to the Netherlands, but

Tropical flowers
Native tropical cut flowers, such as Heliconias and Alpinias, are still non-traditional crops in
Brazil. Familiar to many people as garden plants, they have not been grown on a commercial
scale. Roses and chrysanthemums originally not from Brazil were the flowers to be cultivated
there, as the practice was started in the late 1800s by European and Japanese immigrants. These
have been the traditional flowers to Brazilian consumers, so far.
The tropical flower is a new, exotic product to local and foreign buyers. It can last 20 to 30 days
at the consumers home, and at a warmer climate. Its great diversity of shapes and colours naturally lends itself to arrangements. Advantages can also be found in the field: lower initial investments, since it doesnt require greenhouses or yearly plantings; low labour and chemical input.
Plus tropical flowers are somewhat more rustic and allow eventual mistakes at the start-up, and
dont demand as much cold for transportation.
Disadvantages: irrigation is a must if there is not enough rain; advisors are harder to find; there
is the need of education along the whole chain about new products; longer time to start producing; unfavourable price/weight ratio to compete for cargo space with temperate flowers.

FlowerTECH 2006, vol. 9/no. 1

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Country file
Competition via Alagoas neighbour Pernambuco
his neighbouring state to Alagoas is a pioneer at commercial cultivation of tropical
flowers. In fact, many growers from Alagoas
started out with seedlings from Pernambuco.
Besides a healthy competition they keep a
good relationship, a joint commission for
example has worked on product standardisation. After some foreign buyers started playing one state against the other in price disputes, they are discussing minimum prices.
One leading export company, Helicnia,
has been in the market for eight years, and is
owned by grower, Juarez Souza. It sells his
and other growers products since requests
have become too large. Italy, Germany and
France are main buyers, and the US and
Argentina are new tentative markets. Besides
being a producer, Souza is also presiding
over the state floriculture commission this
year, which unites 10 tropical and temperate
flower associations. He explains, Most of
Pernambucos 150 ha of tropical plants are
situated in a 100 km radius from its capital,
Recife. With this acreage, some fields are having to replace the most common varieties,
which have decreased in price. Production
driven by the market, Brazilian and overseas,
is a must now for those who want to continue expanding. In the future we will also need
a sales representative near our buyers.
Maria C. Teixeira, owner of Mumbecas
Flores is a good example of this sectors phenomenon: plant lover turned businesswoman. After enrolling herself at a floriculture congress in 1994, she started trading
plants with collectors and put the family land
to use. After one year the local market was
won by providing workshops to decorators
and supplying arrangements to city restau-

rants. A case of word of mouth success, her

first export happened when a Brazilian decorator needed tropical flowers for a project in
France. The broker hired at the time became
her regular distributor. The farm slowly grew
to its present 6 ha and an 80-item product
list. In its fields, the difference between the
initial and the newer plots is visible, as she
points out herself. We went to a more
rational use of space, grouping plants of similar needs together. We had to learn which
varieties liked more shade, or less water and
so on. The newest addition is a shade house
with screens of different colours for foliage.
Sebrae came into the picture in
Pernambuco in 1998, when it pointed out
the commercial potential of tropical flowers.
It has helped enterprises with business and
management issues since then. Growers
themselves are quick to explain that the sectors history is divided into a before and after
Sebraes support. It has organised visits to
countries like Venezuela, more experienced at
cultivating tropical flowers. Local universities
have joined in as well, by sending students to
growers for practical periods.

Exporting consortium
Another cooperation example is Tropical
Brazil, an exporting consortium uniting six
like-minded growers, such as Paulo Leo and
Marcina Pontual. Both farm owners have traditionally rented out land to sugar mills but
they sought alternatives for their respective
farms. Paulo believes that the initial phase of
fast increase in the number of growers is now
over. The $13,000/ha to establish a field,
and the long months it takes to start producing are difficult. He explains that having

Portugal has been their most frequent

buyer for the last four years. They agree
that exporting is more profitable, but it is
also much more complicated; each buyer
has specific demands, and there is the
paperwork and red tape to deal with.
Maria Oiticica, one of the directors at
Comflora, voices the same opinion.
Exporting has been a learning curve. The
over three year-old coop has 21 members
(again, only one man), and exports every

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FlowerTECH 2006, vol. 9/no. 1

The right variety should match its application.

Heliconia with large flowers may not have a
competitive price/weight ratio for exports.

another source of income has helped to start

up, and since he is expanding his flower
acreage he seems to believe in its future.
Pernambuco so far has the lead in logistics
with frequent TAP flights to Lisbon. Macei,
in Alagoas state, is only a 20-minute flight
away but since government export offices are
statewide only, out-of-state products are
required a new set of licenses and inspections, meaning more waiting time. And since
there are not enough flights from Macei,
the alternative route is south to the main
hub of So Paulo, and then north to Europe.
A new airport in Macei, expected to be
opened shortly, may change that.

two weeks, predominantly to Portugal and

France.
Exporting has been a good way to avoid
reducing local prices, since we were all after
the same customers. Standardisation of
flowers and packaging among all members
has also been beneficial to the market.
Flowers are only sent to Comflora once
requests have come in, and then the product is re-checked and boxed. Grower groups
take turns at supplying the coop if there is

not enough demand, or can also sell elsewhere. Bigger growers help out smaller
ones to fill requests at busier times when
more variety or volume is needed. Both
Comflora and Flora Atlntica growers have
their own field agronomist for assistance
with pests and diseases, a demand from the
Ministry of Agriculture for exporting operations.
mauriciomathias@hotmail.com

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