On Knowing True Costs: Delivery Expenses of Shipping Flowers Continues to Rise

摘要

More than ever, it is important for retail florists to pay attention to the delivered cost of flowers. Cut flowers normally have to be transported great distances from production to market, so the cost of cut flowers is very sensitive to the cost of fuel. Freight alone accounts for 20 to 40 per cent of the cost of the flowers from South America. Freight costs on flowers flown from the Netherlands represent close to 50 per cent of Dutch prices. The percentage attributed to fuel and freight costs jumps to nearly 75 per cent on exotics, such as dendrobium (orchids), from the Far East. Shipping flowers by express overnight service can increase these percentages.