Japanese-grown carnations wane as imports rise in Japan

TOKYO, Oct. 5 — Japan’s production of carnations has fallen in recent years, as cheap imports flood the market, data from the agriculture ministry shows.

The imports of carnations in 2016 rose 6% from a year earlier to a record 361.6 million flowers. They account for nearly 60 percent of the Japanese market.

The biggest exporter is Colombia, which saw a 7% surge from a year earlier to 236 million. China and Vietnam also each saw a 7% increase.

On the other hand, the production of carnations has declined in Japan.

Japan produced 251.5 million carnations in 2016. The volume was a record low since 1976, the oldest year for which carnation growing figures are available at the agriculture ministry.

What’s more, the acreage of planted carnations decreased about one-third over the past decade.

Flower growers in Nagano prefecture, one of top regions for commercial flower farming, have been trying to increase flower yields and for them to last longer amid rising cheap imports.

“But imports are unstoppable,” said an official from the agriculture cooperatives in Nagano. “More growers have shifted production from carnations to high-end specialty cut flowers like lisianthus.”

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