The development of the Colombian cut flower industry

The Colombian cut flower industry is one of the majordevelopment success stories of the last 20 years, growing from small beginnings in 1966 to the world's second largest exporter of cut flowers in 1980. This rapid development has made the cut flower industry a major contributor to the Colombian economy. Cut flowers are now the nation's leading nontraditional export and fourth largest earner of foreign exchange after coffee, petroleum, and bananas. The industry has also become a major employer of low-skill, largely female labor drawn from the low-income areas surrounding Bogota. In 1989, the industry employed more than 70,000 workers and generated another 50,000 jobs in such ancillary industries as packaging and transportation. Evolution of the Colombian cut flower industry illustrates how the market system enables a society to coordinate its economic activities in the most effective way. Historically, cut flower production moved from the eastern United States to the western and southern states and then to Colombia. In both cases, development of air transportation made markets accessible within hours from anywhere in the world. This freed growers to shift production to areas with favorable land and labor costs as well as good growing climate. The U.S. economy has also benefited from the employment opportunities created by the necessity to handle and care for the increased volume of flowers at the wholesale and retail level.