Blooming shame: Pandemic, Ukraine war hurts Thai orchid industry

NAKHON PATHOM: Thailand’s orchid growers, already weary after two years of being battered by the pandemic, are bracing for fresh blows to their livelihood as the war in Ukraine and changing weather patterns further cloud their futures.

Once considered a popular pastime among the elite in Thailand, orchid growing has developed into a multi-million dollar industry, and the kingdom is the world’s biggest producer and exporter of cut orchids.

But the pandemic has seen one in five farms shut recently, according to the Thai Orchid Exporter Association.

“No one has the heart to buy flowers, and transportation is very complicated’’, said Somchai Lerdrungwitayachai as he stares in despair at the sea of purple at his orchid farm west of Bangkok.

He grows Dendrobium Sonia orchids — a hybrid variety with delicate white and purple petals. Popular in Japan, China and the United States, they are used for anything from religious ceremonies to college graduations.

At his 20-hectare property, workers treat the cut flowers with a special solution before trimming the stems and fitting them with a small vial, containing vitamins and nutrients, to preserve their fresh appearance for up to two weeks.

But times are tough: Somchai has been dipping into his savings for two years to keep paying his 50-odd employees.

Covid-19 and Russia’s war on Ukraine have sent the price of fertilisers and pesticides up by 30 per cent, he said.

Adding to his woes are dramatically falling sales: Pre-pandemic China bought 270 million orchid stems annually from Thailand — a figure that dropped to 170 million last year.

Once accounting for 80 per cent of Somchai’s export income, China has been hit with coronavirus lockdowns in a number of cities, including its biggest: Shanghai.

Transporting orchids to the key market by road used to take up to three days, but the same journey can now take between eight and 10 days.

In the flower business, time is money and wilted orchids are frequently discarded before they can ever reach a Shanghai customer’s home to be admired.

While Somchai delivers his produce directly overseas, the majority of orchid growers in Thailand use large exporters based in Bangkok.

Air-freight costs have tripled or quadrupled in recent months, depending on the destination, said Wuthichai Pipatmanomai, vice-president of the Thai Orchid Exporter Association and co-owner of Sun International Flower, a major exporter.

Before the pandemic, the company was delivering 3.6 million orchids a month to China, Japan, Vietnam and the United States.

Now, only 1.2 million flowers leave the warehouse, and he has had to let go of half of his staff.

“We have asked the authorities for financial support, but we have not received anything’’, Wuthichai said. “Time is running out.”

Increasing his selling price by 20 per cent has resulted in several importers dropping him to concentrate on more local flowers.

 — AFP