National University of Kaohsiung and sunflower field 20180305

Floriculture Floriculture (from ) is the study of the efficient production of the plants that produce showy, colorful flowers and foliage for human enjoyment in human environments. It is a commercially successful branch of horticulture and agriculture found ...

is a significant industry in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Taiwan is one of the largest flower exporters in the world and the top producer of

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

Overview

In 2011 Taiwan was one of the largest flower exporters in the world and the top producer of orchids. In 2013, Taiwan harvested

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s with a total value of NT$16.52 billion, in which US$189.7 million of it was exported. Flower plantation land spreads over an area of 138 km2.

Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

floriculture takes the most land share among other types of flowers. Taiwan is the world's largest exporter of

s, which represented 87% of the flower export value in 2013. The main export markets for Taiwanese flowers are the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Small scale growers receive extensive government and private support, many of these small flower growers are multi-generation family farms.

Tianwei Tianwei Township () is a rural township in Changhua County, Taiwan. It has a population total of 26,063 and an area of 24.03 square kilometres. Administrative divisions Tianwei, Xipan, Dalian, Zhengyi, Beizeng, Nanzeng, Raoping, Fengtian, Renli ...

is a traditional center of the industry and is known as the “land of flowers."

History

The high-end orchid industry began in the 1970s with amateurs and hobbyists collecting and cultivating specimens. Due to the economic expansion of Taiwan’s economy during this period these hobbyists where able to devote significant resources to developing and crossbreeding orchids. This created a dedicated local market for very expensive innovative flowers. In the 1980s major Taiwanese corporations noticed the market and began mass production with the help of Dutch companies and cultivation techniques. In the early 1990s Taiwanese flower producers played an important part in starting the modern floriculture industry in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, particularly around

Kunming Kunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also the seat of the provincial government. During World War II, Kunming was a Ch ...

. In 2005 Taiwan overtook Thailand as the world’s top orchid producer. The export oriented flower market suffered during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

with an increase in domestic consumption and government support necessary to keep the industry profitable. In 2022 Taiwan was by far the largest exporter of orchids to the United States.

Markets

The Taipei Flower Market is the largest plant and flower market in Taiwan.

Organizations

The Taiwan Floriculture Development Association is the primary industry association. Associations also exist for high value sub-groups such as orchid producers.

References

{{Horticulture and gardening

Horticulture in Taiwan

Overview

History

Markets

Organizations

See also

References