CBP processed approximately 320.8 million cut flower stems during the 2010 Valentine's season from Jan. 1 to Feb. 14, compared to 148.5 million stems processed during the 2009 season -- an increase of 45 percent. Most of the cut flower shipments are imported from South America, primarily Colombia, with 211.9 million stems or 66 percent, followed by Ecuador with 70.5 million stems or 33 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 2010 Valentine's season has more than doubled compared to 2009 season.
During fiscal year 2010, CBP processed approximately 8.3 billion cut flower stems and Miami alone processed 4.5 billion stems.
During the 2010 Valentine's season:
- CBP in Miami processed approximately 272 million stems, or 85 percent of the total imported cut flowers nationally, compared to 123 million stems imported during last year's season. Los Angeles has ranked second by processing 17.4 million flower stems during the 2010 Valentine's season, compared to 7.5 million stems imported during last year's season.
- Approximately 198 million (or 93%) 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 3,054 pest interceptions nationally. Miami intercepted 2,329 plant pests, followed by New York with 277 plant pests.
- The most common type of insects intercepted in these cut flower imports are Thrips (Thripidae), Moths (Noctuidae), Aphididae (Aphids), and Miner Flies (Agromyzidae)
Top 10 ports of entry, by volume (number of stems), that processed shipments of cut flower imports for the 2010 Valentine season:
Location | Quantity in Stems |
Miami | 272,093,769 |
Los Angeles | 17,431,830 |
Otay Mesa, Calif. | 6,730,563 |
Laredo, Texas | 5,845,189 |
New York | 5,011,630 |
Wilmington, Del. | 2,616,643 |
Chicago | 2,233,072 |
Newark, N.J. | 1,670,480 |
Philadelphia | 1,596,856 |
San Juan, P.R. | 1,159,129 |
Top 10 Cut Flower Imports:
Commodity | Stems |
Rosa | 62,278,324 |
Bouquet, Mixed | 36,235,356 |
Dianthus | 22,914,211 |
Chrysanthemum (pom-pon) | 20,153,392 |
Dianthus (mini) | 14,108,174 |
Bouquet, Rose | 14,049,973 |
Alstroemeria | 13,648,133 |
Chrysanthemum | 7,638,236 |
Hydrangea | 4,321,431 |
Gerbera | 2,717,865 |
Top 6 Exporting Country of Origin:
Country of Origin | Stems |
Colombia | 211,896,572 |
Ecuador | 70,469,438 |
Mexico | 13,416,400 |
Netherlands | 9,170,145 |
Costa Rica | 6,592,562 |
Thailand | 2,544,120 |
Top 6 Ports of Entry, by Number of Plant Pests Intercepted From Shipments of Imported Cut Flowers:
Location | Pests Intercepted |
Miami | 2,329 |
New York | 277 |
Los Angeles | 93 |
Chicago | 84 |
San Juan, P.R. | 63 |
Otay Mesa, Calif. | 60 |
Top Types of Insects Found in Cut Flower Imports:
Pest Species/Family | Pest Order | Total Pests |
Frankliniella / Thripidae | Thysanoptera | 748 |
Noctuidae / Noctuidae | Lepidoptera | 454 |
Aphididae / Aphididae | Homoptera | 297 |
Agromyzidae / Agromyzidae | Diptera | 256 |