Last year the import of roses rose from €376,000 in January to €639,000 in February, and a similar trend is expected this year, the HGK says.
In February 2019, the import of roses went up by 14%, from 1.2 to 1.4 million roses, compared with the year before.
According to data from the HGK, in the first ten months of 2019 we imported roses worth more than five million euro, which is a 31.3% increase in comparison with the same period of 2018, when Croatia imported roses worth €3.8 million. Most imports are from the Netherlands ( €4.8 million), followed by Slovenia and Germany.
The total import of cut flowers also went up - from €8.1 to €10.6 million, or 30%.
As import continues to grow, the export of roses and flowers falls, the HGK reports.
From January to October 2019 Croatia exported roses worth €186,000, which is 15% less than in the same period of 2018 (€220,000). The largest portions of the exports went to Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The total export of flowers fell by 1%, from €704,000 in the first ten months of 2018 to €696,000 in the same period last year.
Although the flower industry in the Netherlands is well-developed, the European Union imports ten times more cut roses than it exports, Eurostat data show. Most of the EU's imports of roses originate from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador and Colombia so one can expect to find roses from these exotic destinations in Croatian flower shops, as well, the HGK reports.