Promoting domestic flowers as “British” could be the way for growers to reverse declining sales, according to a new report.

“UK floriculture production is showing a decline, as a large share of the companies are rather out-of-date, have little capital to invest and often lack a successor,” claimed Rabobank analyst Cindy van Rijswick in a new report.

Production of cut flowers such as chrysanthemums, which are imported on a large scale, has suffered as UK growers struggle to compete with the biggest importers.

However, the weakening pound, aided by an increase in popularity of regional and seasonal products, provided UK growers with the opportunity to reclaim share, says van Rijswick.

Rabobank’s report comes as an initiative to increase sales of plants grown in British nurseries reported encouraging results. Plant producers W Godfrey & Sons and Planta Vera launched the Home Grown project four years ago to raise consumer awareness of British-grown ornamental produce.

New market research for the project suggested 91% of consumers would be more likely to buy plants with the Home Grown logo than without.

Supermarkets had both helped and hindered the UK flower industry, according to van Rijswick. On the one hand she praised UK retailers for their development of the impulse market and their work in driving flower sales throughout the year and not just ahead of events such as Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.

“The UK has led the developments in multi-channel marketing for cut flowers,” she said. “UK supermarkets have proven very successful in the grab-and-go market.”

However, to achieve high quality, freshness and low prices, supermarkets were placing “extremely high demands” on their suppliers, including just-in-time daily deliveries and strict product specs on stem length, weight and pesticide use, van Rijswick added.

The UK retail market for flowers is worth £2bn.

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