ISHS Acta Horticulturae 97: VI Symposium on Horticultural Economics
MARKET CHANNELS FOR ORNAMENTALS IN BELGIUM |
| Authors: | J. Viaene, L. D'Haese |
| Abstract:
The non-edible horticultural products represent an important section of Belgian horticulture. The sector of non-edible horticultural products groups the arboriculture, the culture of cut flowers, of azalea, of bulbs and tubers and of pot-plants. Especially the culture of azalea, bulbs and pot-plants are concentrated in the region of Ghent and are characterised by a similar commercial structure. The aim of our study is to analyse the main problems in marketing this products, in order to make deductions in connection with the future structure of offtake and marketing. The total production value of the non-edible horticultural products amounted to 6 600 million BF in 1977. The share of azalea, bulbs and pot-plants reached respectively 14.8, 6.4 and 42.2 %. The azalea area in open air decreased from 225 ha in 1974 to 193 ha in 1978. The azalea area under glass amounted to 92.3 ha in 1974 and has stabilized on that level. This evolution will go on in the next years. The area of bulbs and tubers amounted to 219 ha in open air and 26.8 ha under glass and consists nearly entirely of begonia and gloxinia tubers. The share of this culture descreases from year to year, due to the increases of wages. The begonia tubers are mostly produced in small concerns, with less future for a potential successor. The area of pot-plants has increased steadily from 95 ha in 1965 to 152 ha in 1973 and to 171 ha in 1977. Taking into account the recent increase of production in the Netherlands, the expansion of the belgian pot-plant production is rather moderate. Since 1975 the offtake of belgian ornamental plants is characterised by stagnation. According to Meulenberg (1975) market stagnation can be the cause of :
Starting from the paneldata of the Agricultural Economic Institute (Brussels), the family expenditure for pot-plants increased with 32 % in the period 1975–1978. The domestic demand is in expansion, while the export surplus for ornamental plants has decreased with 34 % in the same period. The export-figure curve rised from 484 million BF in 1970 till 1 317 million BF in 1978. But the import has increased relatively more, evoluating from 87 million BF in 1970 till 563 million BF in 1978. From this data, it is becoming clear that the domestic demand is not saturated, but drawbacks and gaps in the market policy and an | |
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