In the spring of 2023, the floral market saw only a small mix of Dutch tulips available in florist-grade selections. The majority of the assortment leaned toward Russian-grown varieties, with imported options carrying noticeably higher price tags. This assessment comes from representatives in the Russian floriculture sector, as reported by Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
Over the past five to seven years, a similar pattern has emerged within Russia’s flower trade. Industry leaders point to a steady shift toward domestic production, noting that the drop in imported tulip varieties is not the result of Western sanctions against Russia. The trend reflects a deliberate move toward local cultivation and production capacity building, rather than external political pressures.
Officials and industry insiders observed that the year would feature a predominance of tulips grown in Russia, with only a limited number of imported blooms and those imports commanding higher prices. The move toward import substitution in this segment of the flower industry has taken hold, creating a network of several hundred tulip growers within the country and establishing a profitable niche for small to mid-sized enterprises. This shift illustrates how domestic cultivation can reshape product availability and pricing in a specialized market.
On February 22, the leadership of the National Florists’ Association publicly called for an anti-dumping investigation into the influx of low-cost flowers into the Russian domestic market. The concern centers on a growing volume of inexpensive imports from Africa and Latin America, with Kenya and Ecuador cited as specific sources in recent discussions. The aim of the proposed inquiry is to determine whether these cheap imports are being sold at unfair prices that harm local producers, and to outline potential corrective measures. — attribution: Rossiyskaya Gazeta