Dynamics of East Asian flower economies: China, Japan and Korea

Since 2000, flower production and trade in East Asia have developed dynamically. China has greatly increased flower production, exports and imports, whereas Japan has decreased its production. South Korea has now become an importer. We investigate in detail the development of the flower industry in each nation, as well as its production, consumption, and trade. In China we identify the importance of pot plants and nursery stock in production, compared with Japan. Increases in imports of cut flowers and flower bulbs are apparent. Since 2000 the Japanese flower market has stagnated. Japan is still a large flower importer. We identified a low level of flower consumption by individual consumers, small-scale production by a large number of producers, and a large number of small-scale wholesale markets. Since 2010 the South Korea flower market has declined and exports have decreased. The “Act on the Development of the Flower Industry and Flower Culture” was enacted on August 20, 2019. We investigate the establishment process of the law and discuss some problems of the Korean flower industry.