Millions of flowers from Latin America will be distributed in the US for Valentine’s Day

This February 14 is celebrated the day of love and friendship in most countries of the world. Also in the United States, whose tradition of giving roses or other floral ornaments has become popular over the years.

During the last weeks, the Miami International Airport, in Florida, has registered a higher activity than usual in the year and it is on the occasion of Valentine’s Day. 89% of imported flowers pass through these facilities, mostly from Latin America.

“We receive almost 90% of all flower imports from the United States, mainly from Colombia, Ecuador and Chile. For us, this is a highly relevant operation because precisely one out of every five flowers that enter the United States are inspected here in Miami,” explains Indira Pardillo-Almeida, spokeswoman for the Miami International Airport, in statements to the voice of america.

An economic shock

This industry has become an economic boost for many companies in the sector thanks to the great demand for flowers in the North American country, especially on holidays such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day (May 14).

“For us, the flower industry is fundamental and represents approximately 40% of what we operate during the year, so a highly prepared operation is required to guarantee the seriousness and quality that this means,” says Gabriel Oliva. , CEO of Avianca Cargo, one of the main transportation companies in the region in charge of flower distribution.

In recent weeks, according to Oliva, flower operations “almost tripled”, which is why they must even increase the fleet of planes to respond to the great demand from the United States for February 14.

“Not only are the planes, the warehouses also have to be prepared,” he adds in this regard.

From the time the flowers are picked until the customer buys them

It is an operation that is meticulously cared for, above all to keep the flowers at an optimal temperature from the place of departure in Latin America until they reach the United States and arrange them for the final customer. “Here there is a series of actors with whom we have to work in a very coordinated way. We work with the exporter, they deliver the flowers to us and we put them in the warehouse, to later place them on the ramp and take them onto the plane,” says the representative of Avianca Cargo, which has become the leading airline in the entire American continent. in obtaining the CEIB Fresh certificate, the quality guarantee standard granted by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The menace of the flowers

Once they arrive on US territory, strict biosafety protocols must be followed. Every day, hundreds of officers from the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspect a sample of imported flowers with the aim of minimizing the risk of pests as much as possible.

“What is basically done is inspect a portion of the flowers from all these flights that arrive and we make sure that no type of pest that is harmful to the agricultural sector of the United States does not enter,” says Abel Serrano, an assistant at the Department of Agriculture. from the federal agency.

The biggest concern is that an infestation could start from a batch of flowers that might have some kind of harmful insect on them, so officers need to be trained to discern any kind of threat to the public health of the United States.

Last year, 128 billion dollars were allocated to eradicate pests that entered the North American country, which gives an idea of ​​the importance of this sector both in the economy and in biosanitary measures.

“These insects can cause some type of damage to other agricultural crops, and that would obviously cause an increase in product prices,” warns Serrano.

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