Wet weather and inflation did not do floriculture sales any good in Germany, with sales of flowers, houseplants, garden plants, trees and bulbs falling to EUR 8.6 billion last year. Compared to other German sectors, however, this decline was not too bad.
The German branch organisation for flower wholesalers and importers Verband des Deutschen Blumen- Groß- und Importhandels (BGI) publishes an annual magazine on the German ornamental plant sector around the time the IPM is held in Essen. Research on the first nine months of 2023, conducted by Agrarmarkt Informations-Gesellschaft (AMI) – a German agency that collects all relevant agriculture-related facts and information – shows that the sales value of fruits, woody crops, herbs, houseplants, bulbs, bedding and balcony plants, perennials and cut flowers fell by 4% to EUR 8.6 billion.
Almost all these product groups were in the red by between 3 and 5% compared to 2022. Only the sales value of herbs remained stable. In 2022, the German ornamental products market had already dropped back to pre-Covid levels. A comparison between 2023 and pre-Covid year 2019 shows that only green houseplant (+11%) and flower bulb (+2%) sales had risen. The value of the German ornamentals market reached the 2017 level last year. The period between 2017 and 2022 included a peak of EUR 10.2 billion but ended at EUR 8.9 billion in 2022 .