ISHS Acta Horticulturae 673: IX International Symposium on Flower Bulbs
PRODUCTION OF FLOWER BULBS AND BULBOUS CUT FLOWERS IN JAPAN - PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE |
| Author: | K. Ohkawa |
| Keywords: | lily, tulip, export, import, bulb production, bulbous cut flower |
| Abstract:
A large share of the Lilium genetic resources introduced into Europe originated from Japan. At first, these various species were collected in the wild, but several of them became difficult to find as the demand for them increased. Consequently, commercial production commenced in the various locations where those species were found. By 1937, some 40 million bulbs were exported by Japan. This number had decreased to 22.9 million by 1972 and to 1 million by 2001. On the other hand, the number of imported bulbs has increased rapidly as various import quarantines have been relaxed. In 2001, Japan imported 173.7 million lily bulbs and we now produce some 34.8 million lily bulbs for domestic consumption. In contrast, Japan produced ±100 million tulip bulbs per year from 1964 to 2000. This stability was the result of breeding new cultivars and improving cultural and production methods. However since 2000, domestic production of tulip bulbs has decreased to 82.5 million per year. Tulip bulb exports peaked in 1964, with 25.7 million shipped from Japan. Since then there has been a gradual decrease in tulip bulb exports. As with lilies, the decrease in domestic tulip production was caused by the abolition of quarantine rules and the resulting outside competition. An increase in tulip bulb imports has been caused by similar economic realities, with 259.5 million tulip bulbs imported in 2001. We now export only 1.6 million lily and tulip bulbs, and import 646.1 million bulbs, mainly lily and tulip. The production of bulbs in Japan will not increase in the future because of high production costs, the aging of bulb producers, and the lack of successors for the farms. On the positive side, the domestic production of bulbous cut flowers has increased in response to consumer demand, although this demand has been fed by increased use of imported rather than domestic bulbs. | |
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