US Customs & Border Protection Flower Inspections Data, 2012 Valentine's Season

CBP processed approximately 842.2 million cut flower stems during the 2012 Valentine’s season from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, compared to 802.5 million stems processed during the 2011 season — an increase of 4.9% percent. Most of the cut flower shipments are imported from South America, primarily Colombia, with 536.1 million stems or 67 percent, followed by Ecuador with 194 million stems or 23 percent.

Miami ranks first among U.S. ports of entry for shipments of cut flower imports, followed by Los Angeles. The quantity of imported cut flowers processed by both ports during the 2012 Valentine’s season increased 5.7% compared to 2011 season.

During calendar year 2012, CBP processed approximately 5.1 billion cut flower stems and Miami alone processed 4.3 billion stems.

During the 2012 Valentine’s season:

  • CBP in Miami processed approximately 716.7 million stems, or 85.1 percent of the total imported cut flowers nationally, compared to 673.4 million stems imported during last year’s season. Los Angeles has ranked second by processing 35 million flower stems during the 2012 Valentine’s season, compared to 38.2 million stems imported during last year’s season.
  • Approximately 516 million of cut flower stems imported from Colombia were processed in Miami, where the top cut flower imports are Roses, mixed bouquets, and Dianthus.
  • The imported cut flowers inspection process resulted in a total of 2,439 pest interceptions nationally. Miami intercepted 1,394 pests, followed by Los Angeles with 371 pests.
  • 838 pests (34.4%) were intercepted from Colombia and 903 (37%) were intercepted from Ecuador.
  • The most common type of insects intercepted in these cut flower imports are Tetranychus sp. (mites), Aphididae (Aphids), Agromyzidae (Miner Flies) and Noctuidae (moths).

 

Top 10 ports of entry, by volume (number of stems), that processed shipments of cut flower imports for the 2012 Valentine’s season:

Location Quantity in Stems
FL Miami Air Cargo CBP 716,735,319
CA Los Angeles CBP 35,011,039
CA Otay Mesa CBP 19,449,954
NY JFK Air Cargo CBP 19,444,566
TX Laredo CBP Colombia 18,618,113
IL Chicago CBP 6,201,306
MA Boston CBP 3,587,766
PR San Juan Air CBP 3,306,025
TX Laredo CBP 3,114,610
PR Aguadilla CBP 1,794,641

 

Top 10 Cut Flower Imports:

Commodity Stems
Rosa 301,688,607
Bouquet, Mixed 115,109,738
Bouquet, Rose 73,647,195
Dianthus 57,052,843
Chrysanthemum (pom-pon) 43,287,793
Dianthus (mini) 33,027,078
Alstroemeria 32,362,596
Tulipa 21,747,475
Chrysanthemum 16,885,598
Gypsophila 16,206,903


Top 10 Exporting Country of Origin:

Country of Origin Stems
Colombia 536,070,919
Ecuador 193,551,965
Mexico 44,815,234
Netherlands 26,778,057
Costa Rica 10,289,315
Thailand 7,333,076
Guatemala 5,304,901
United Kingdom of Great Britain and N. Ireland 3,577,210
Kenya 2,418,486
Peru 2,013,272

 

Top 10 Ports of Entry, by Number of Plant Pests Intercepted From Shipments of Imported Cut Flowers:

Location Pests Intercepted
FL Miami Air CBP 1394
CA Los Angeles CBP 370
NY JFK CBP 142
PR Aguadilla CBP 118
CA Otay Mesa CBP 113
PR San Juan Air CBP 90
TX El Paso CBP 34
IL Chicago CBP 22
TX Dallas/Ft. Worth CBP 19
TX Eagle Pass CBP 15

Source: US Customs & Border Protection