Importing cut flowers into the US from Colombia and Ecuador

What to take away

Why Colombia and Ecuador set the US cut flower price floor

Colombia and Ecuador are the two dominant sources of cut flowers entering the United States. Their advantage is structural: high-altitude Andean production, low labor costs, and counter-seasonal harvests that fill US winter and early spring windows when domestic field production is thin.

Colombia ships year-round, with roses, carnations and chrysanthemums as the backbone. Ecuador leans on roses, especially long-stem and premium varieties, plus summer flowers. Colombian flowers fly mainly out of Bogotá's El Dorado airport and Ecuadorian flowers out of Quito. Both countries have air freight links into Miami, the main US entry point, with secondary flows into Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Miami International Airport handles the largest share of flower imports, and the perishable logistics cluster around it, cold rooms, brokers, trucking, sets the cost baseline for the whole trade. A stem landed in Miami carries freight, duty where applicable, inspection and handling costs before it reaches a wholesaler.

That landed cost is the price floor. When Colombian roses land at a certain cost per stem, US wholesalers will not pay domestic growers more than that for a comparable stem unless quality, freshness or variety justifies a premium. Growers in California, Florida, Oregon and Washington feel this most in crops that overlap with Andean supply.

In the past, Andean Trade Preference Act treatment removed or reduced duties on many Colombian and Ecuadorian flowers, which lowered the landed cost. Today the two countries differ. For Colombia, the agreement that applies today is the Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, which went into effect on May 15, 2012: most Colombian goods currently enter the United States free of duty and the merchandise processing fee (MPF), and virtually all will enter free by the time the agreement is fully implemented in 2028. Ecuadorian stems cannot use the Colombian agreement, and the Generalized System of Preferences expired on December 31, 2020; since then, GSP-eligible goods pay the General (column 1) duty rates until Congress renews the program. In practice, Ecuadorian roses pay the general rate for their tariff line unless the broker finds a preference in force on the entry date.

Price floors move with freight rates, fuel, currency and weather in the source countries. A disruption in Colombian air freight raises landed cost and briefly widens the window for domestic stems. Those windows are short, and growers who plan for them need a cut flower succession calendar that targets the weeks when imports are tightest.

US customs entry basics for perishable flower shipments

Every commercial flower shipment entering the United States must be entered with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The importer of record files entry documents, pays estimated duties, and arranges release. For perishables, timing is everything: a box of roses sitting on a tarmac loses value by the hour.

CBP's basic importing and exporting guidance covers the entry process, bonds, and the role of customs brokers. Most flower importers use a broker licensed by CBP, because entry filing, duty calculation and release coordination are unforgiving of errors.

The core entry steps look like this:

Duty rates depend on the product and the country of origin. Colombian flowers that meet the trade agreement's origin rules can enter duty-free, claimed with a certification of origin from the producer, exporter or importer; not every shipment qualifies, and Ecuadorian stems without a preference pay the general rate. A broker confirms the correct Harmonized Tariff Schedule code, because a wrong code means wrong duty and possible penalties.

For example, fresh roses fall under HTS 0603.11.00, where the general US duty rate is about 6.8 percent ad valorem. Carnations under 0603.12.00 carry a lower general rate, and qualifying Colombian shipments can enter at zero under the trade agreement.

Perishability drives special handling. CBP and partner agencies often prioritize perishable entries, but the importer must flag them. Flowers that miss a connection or sit in a hold can be rejected for condition even when the paperwork is perfect.

The origin side has its own authorities. In Colombia, plant health for exports is overseen by the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA); in Ecuador, by Agrocalidad. Exporters work with them on origin inspection and on any phytosanitary certificate the shipment needs, and the importer's broker checks that the paperwork matches what arrives.

Postharvest condition at arrival decides whether a shipment passes inspection. Importers who understand cut flower postharvest handling in the source country have fewer rejections, because cold chain failures show up at the inspection dock.

USDA AMS Specialty Crops Inspection and fresh cut flower grade standards

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crops Inspection Division runs inspection of fresh cut flowers on request. Inspectors check grade, condition, and compliance with US standards.

The USDA fresh cut flower grade standards define grades such as U.S. No. 1 and U.S. No. 2 for many species, including roses, carnations and chrysanthemums. Grade covers stem length, bloom size, straightness, foliage condition and freedom from damage or disease.

Inspection is requested by the buyer, seller or importer, and the certificate carries weight in disputes. A USDA inspection certificate is evidence of condition at a point in time, which matters when a shipment is rejected and the question is who bears the loss.

For importers, the certificate's value is as evidence of condition in a dispute. For domestic growers, the same grade standards apply to their own flowers when they sell to buyers who require graded product. Learning the standards is a competitive tool, not just paperwork.

A grower who grades to U.S. No. 1 and can document it has a stronger case for a premium over commodity imports. That documentation starts before harvest, with clean beds and consistent nutrition. A cut flower fertility checklist helps keep stem quality uniform enough to grade.

Inspection fees and travel costs apply, and inspectors are not available everywhere on demand.

The AMS inspection fee is typically billed by the hour at around $60 to $70 per inspector hour, plus travel and overtime; a single shipment inspection often totals a few hundred dollars.

Large importers build inspection into their arrival schedule; small domestic growers usually request inspection only for specific contracts or disputes.

APHIS plant and plant product import requirements

APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, sets the plant health rules for cut flowers entering the United States. Its plant and plant product import requirements cover permits, pest risk, and inspection at ports of entry.

Most cut flowers enter under general entry rules, but some species and some origins require a permit or are restricted because they can carry pests or diseases. Fresh flowers with stems, leaves and buds are plant material, and APHIS treats them accordingly.

APHIS inspects shipments at ports and can hold, treat, or refuse entry if pests are found. A live pest interception can mean fumigation, re-export, or destruction, all at the importer's cost. That risk is one reason importers build in time and budget for inspection.

APHIS plant import permits usually carry no application fee, but inspection, treatment and quarantine handling are billed at published rates. A fumigation treatment can run into the hundreds of dollars per shipment, and destruction or re-export costs more.

Growers importing propagation material face tighter rules than importers of finished stems. If you bring in cuttings, bulbs or plugs to grow, APHIS permit and quarantine requirements apply, and state departments of agriculture may add their own rules. A cut flower propagation guide helps growers plan clean, compliant starts.

State-level rules matter too. California, Florida and other major growing states have their own agricultural inspection and pest exclusion programs, so a shipment cleared by APHIS can still face state inspection on arrival.

Country of Origin Labeling and Section 8e import rules

Country of Origin Labeling, or COOL, requires that covered commodities be labeled with their country of origin at retail, and cut flowers are not among them. USDA's COOL rule, 7 CFR Part 65, covers lamb, chicken and goat meat, perishable agricultural commodities, macadamia nuts, pecans, peanuts and ginseng, and it defines a perishable agricultural commodity as fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. For cut flowers, origin is declared through customs entry documents and invoices, and retail labeling and marketing claims must not mislead.

A repacked mixed bouquet must not mislead buyers about where the stems came from. If a box of Colombian roses is repacked with domestic filler, the labeling and invoicing must reflect the actual origins. Mislabeling is a customs and trade issue, not just a marketing one.

Section 8e needs checking before a grower relies on it, because it does not reach flowers. Section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, codified at 7 U.S.C. 608e-1, applies when a federal marketing order regulates the grade, size, quality or maturity of one of the commodities the statute names: tomatoes, raisins, olives, prunes, avocados, mangoes, limes, grapefruit, green peppers, Irish potatoes, cucumbers, oranges, onions, walnuts, cherries, pecans, dates, filberts, table grapes, eggplants, kiwifruit, nectarines, clementines, plums, pistachios, apples and caneberries.

For those commodities, imports must then comply with the same grade, size, quality and maturity provisions as domestic product. Cut flowers are not on the list, so no Section 8e grade requirement applies to an imported rose or carnation.

For US growers, that answers a common complaint: there is no federal import-grade rule to stop lower-grade stems undercutting domestic price. Their tools are freshness, grading to their own buyers' specifications, and the services covered below.

What is checked at entry is plant health and paperwork, not grade. Importers who ship consistent, clean product clear faster; those whose shipments carry pests or arrive in poor condition face holds, treatment costs and rejections.

PACA and fair trading when a shipment is rejected

PACA, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, governs fair trading in perishable agricultural commodities, but the act defines those as fresh fruits and fresh vegetables of every kind and character. Cut flowers are not covered, so PACA's standards for prompt payment, honest invoicing and handling of rejections do not protect a flower trade.

PACA applies to businesses that buy or sell fresh fruits and vegetables in interstate or foreign commerce. A grower who also ships produce across state lines in commercial quantities may need a PACA license for that trade, but flowers alone do not bring a business under PACA.

When a flower shipment is rejected, the rules come from the sales contract instead. Put the rejection terms in writing: the buyer gives prompt notice, states the reason, and allows the seller to inspect or arrange disposition. A buyer who simply dumps the product and refuses to pay is then breaking a written term, not a vague expectation.

Rejection disputes often turn on condition at arrival. A USDA AMS inspection certificate, taken at the right time, is the strongest evidence. Without it, a claim becomes one party's word against the other.

PACA also provides a trust mechanism that protects unpaid sellers of fresh produce, but because flowers fall outside the act, unpaid flower sellers rely on credit checks, deposits, short payment terms and ordinary collection claims instead.

For domestic growers selling to wholesalers, written payment and rejection terms are worth settling before the first invoice. A cut flower seed starting checklist is about production, but the business side starts with knowing who you are selling to and under what rules.

What domestic growers can and cannot compete on

Domestic US growers have openings that imports cannot easily fill. Freshness, local delivery, specialty varieties and service are the strongest.

A stem cut this morning and delivered within a day beats a stem that flew thousands of miles, for buyers who value vase life and condition.

Specialty and niche crops are the clearest opening. Dahlias, peonies, specialty tulips, ranunculus, and unusual foliage often do not travel well or are not grown at scale in the Andes. Buyers pay for them because imports cannot easily replace them.

Seasonal windows matter. In late spring and summer, California, Oregon, Washington, Michigan and New York can supply fresh local stems when import competition is less intense. Planning production around those windows is a pricing strategy.

Direct-to-florist and direct-to-consumer sales let growers capture margin that wholesale commodity channels do not offer. Farmers markets, community supported agriculture shares and local florist accounts reward consistency and communication more than rock-bottom price.

Quality and grading discipline are competitive too. A grower who meets U.S. No. 1 consistently can sell into accounts that require graded product and can use that documented grade as a selling point. Soil and nutrition management underpin that consistency: see this soil fertility guide.

Reading USDA Market News floral price reports

USDA Market News publishes floral price reports that track wholesale prices for domestic and imported cut flowers. These reports are the common language buyers and sellers use to settle trades.

The reports cover major markets and include prices by species, grade and origin. Imported roses from Colombia and Ecuador appear alongside domestic product, which makes the price floor visible in numbers rather than anecdotes.

Reading the reports takes practice. Prices are quoted in ranges and by unit, such as per bunch or per stem, and they reflect reported sales, not asking prices. Volume and condition notes matter as much as the headline price.

Growers can use the reports to benchmark their own pricing and to time sales. If imported rose prices are soft, pushing a large domestic rose volume into the same week is a losing move. If import supply is tight, the reports show the opening.

Market News data also supports planning. A grower who tracks price patterns across a few seasons can map production weeks against the periods when domestic stems command the best price.

Reports are not a guarantee of what a specific buyer will pay. They are a reference, and buyers know them. Walking into a negotiation without having read the latest report puts a grower at a disadvantage against an importer or wholesaler who has.

Common questions