[Exclusive] "Imported Flowers in Full Bloom"... Export-Import Gap Widens 40-Fold as Government Support Plummets

Exports to Japan and China Down 90%
Competition from Emerging Exporters Intensifies
Lim Hoseon: "Insufficient Government Support... Disaster Insurance Coverage Must Be Expanded"

As the decline in exports of floral products continues, the gap between exports and imports has widened to about 40 times, highlighting a severe imbalance. There are growing concerns that the domestic floral industry has lost its competitiveness.

According to the office of Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Hoseon, a member of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee, over the past ten years, the export volume of floral products has decreased by 86.2%, while import volume has increased by 65.9%.

Various flower baskets and bouquets are displayed at the Yangjae Flower Complex in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

Last year, the volume of imported floral products reached 22,000 tons, far exceeding the export volume of 533 tons by more than 40 times. During the same period, the value of floral imports was 121.53 million dollars, which is about 20 times the value of exports.

The main reason for the imbalance in floral exports and imports is attributed to the decline in exports to Japan and China, which were major export destinations in the past. According to an analysis of trade trends, South Korea’s exports to Japan fell from 17.74 million dollars in 2015 to 1.69 million dollars in 2024, a 90% decrease over the past ten years. Exports to China also dropped by approximately 92% during the same period.

Intensifying competition with emerging floral exporters such as China, Vietnam, and Colombia has also contributed to the decline in domestic exports.

While floral farms are losing their footing, there are growing concerns that the government’s support budget is actually shrinking, rapidly weakening the safety net for on-site management. This year, the total amount of government support is 11.9 billion won, a 37.5% decrease compared to 2018.

Assemblyman Lim stated, “Domestic floral farms are facing a double hardship of shrinking sales channels and rising management costs, and insufficient government support is threatening their sustainability. We need to restore the competitiveness of the domestic floral market by expanding the range of disaster insurance products and increasing the unit cost of disaster recovery support to secure productivity.”