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Published : 10 Feb 2026, 06:33 PM
Millions of Colombian roses arrived in the US just in time for Valentine's Day, but growing economic challenges are threatening to wilt the romance for the world's second-largest flower exporter.
Colombia, which trails only the Netherlands in global exports, shipped approximately 65,000 tonnes of fresh-cut blooms between Jan 15 and Feb 9. The Valentine's Day season typically accounts for 20 percent of annual sales for a sector that serves as the primary supplier to the US market, according to industry group Asocolflores.
But the holiday rush is being overshadowed by a 10 percent US tariff imposed last April as part of President Donald Trump's broader trade measures. The US accounts for about 80 percent of Colombia's flower exports.
Growers are also battling a peso that has strengthened almost 12 percent against the dollar over the past year and a 23 percent rise in minimum wage, factors that are eroding competitiveness and squeezing margins.
"We are in very adverse, very complicated situations," said Jose Antonio Restrepo, manager of Ayure SAS Eclipse Flowers near Bogota. Without a shift in economic conditions, he warned, the industry could face widespread layoffs and farm closures by July.
Flower cultivation is the country's most labour-intensive agricultural sector, providing formal employment for roughly 240,000 workers across 10,500 hectares, or nearly 26,000 acres.
Flower growers face another unlikely challenge this year: Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday.
"It's preferable that Valentine's Day falls on a weekday because people are accustomed to sending flowers to offices as a surprise," explained Augusto Solano, president of Asocolflores.
On the packing floor at Ayure SAS Eclipse Flowers, the mood was more upbeat. Susana Vega, who was wrapping a bundle of roses, said the holiday still brings a sense of purpose.
"It's an immense joy (...), knowing that we're bringing happiness to someone," Vega said. "To a woman, to a mother, and that we're also benefiting ourselves."
