Romania and flowers go hand in hand, growing naturally or given as a gift.
In the final years of communism, the only spot of color on the gray and drab streets of Bucharest were vivid flowers sold by Gypsy women.
And Romania’s relationship with flowers is flourishing with the floral market expected to grow by an estimated 15% this year, according to KeysFin analysts.
The market is already burgeoning, almost doubling what it was in 2014, and 6% more than in 2017. Some 1,600 people work in the floral industry.
In 2018, it was worth 330 million lei, while this year it could peak at 450 million lei, national news agency Agerpres reported.
“Floral businesses have gained momentum in recent years and …. more than 90% of the entrepreneurs in this sector are Romanian,” said Roxana Popescu, managing director KeysFin. “At the moment, this sector’s growth comes only from consumption” but it will also come from growers if there is investment in this area, she said.
In 2018, there were 830 floral companies , of which 387 had a profit, and 373 registered losses.
The largest local companies are all owned by Romanian investors, Comgaby Moln SRL Flowers Market Holland SRL and Flor de los Andes SRL.
Most flowers are sold in the capital, about one-third of the total turnover, followed by Bistrita-Nasaud county in the north which has 10% of all business followed by Ilfov county.
The e-commerce market is also growing, KeysFin said with about 150 online flower shops. The busiest months are February, March and December.
