>s

B

Groover to Grower

by JEAN D. AYLSWORTH

Are Canadian Importsa Plus for U.S. Growers?

U.S. growers in areas near theCanadian border have long

been aware of the presence of theircounterparts to the North. Whilehorticultural products from Canadaare not new to the U.S. marketplace, in recent years they have become increasingly more visible —even in places several hundred milesfrom the border. And, with the exchange rate favoring the Canadians,the impact is becoming significant.

Alvi Voigt, agricultural economist at Pennsylvania State University, says, however, that the effectsmay be more positive than negativefor U.S. growers.

He points out, for example, thatthe availability of lower-priced Canadian products may open up newopportunities for smaller retail operations in the U.S. Since they havethe alternative of buying some products at a reasonable price, it givesthem the space and time to concentrate on other crops(and emphasizetheir strong points.

At the same time, Voigt doesn'tthink most larger U.S. wholesalegrowers will be hurt by the influx ofCanadian products.

"Most of them are pretty smartand have done their homework." hesays. "They are taking care of theircustomers and have built up a kindof loyalty. I don't think the Canadians can do that as well."

Voigt says some wholesale growers may want to take advantage ofthe situation and buy prefinisheditems from the Canadians to expandtheir production capabilities.

' 'The sharper ones are going to sitdown and figure these things out anddecide what they can do differentlyto help their bottom line," he says.

54

Basically, Voigt believes the U.S.is in a state of underconsumption offloral products and he thinks the Canadian thrust into the marketplaceis waking up U.S. growers to thepossibilities of increasing consumerflower purchasing nationwide.

"I think the market can enlargesufficiently so that everyone can beaccommodated if people don'tpanic." he says. "There may be somepeople who take the easy way out andcut prices, but that's a poor way todo business. That should be an intermediate or last resort."

What U.S. growers should do,Voigt says, is to fine tune their ownmarketing skills and find out howthey can use the Canadian presenceto their advantage.

"They should think in terms of

Alvi Voigt, of Penn State University, says U.S.growers should take advantage of Canadianimports.

\(%li

total specification marketing," hesays. "That is, find out what themarket is looking for and paralleltheir marketing and production efforts to correspond to that.

"They must take care of theircustomers, provide them with product at the time they want it and atthe quality they want, and help theirpotential customers to increase theirsales.

"If U.S. growers respond in thisway, quite frankly, I think the Canadians will be helping us out."

PENNSYLVANIA

Don Layser, of Layser's Flowers,Myerstown. agrees with Voigt. Hesays the efforts of the Canadians toexpand into the U.S. market haveprompted some U.S. growers toeither polish up their own businessskills or change their focus.

"Chrysanthemum growers havenoticed the biggest effect from theCanadian imports," he says, "andsome of the smaller mum growershave given up. They figure they need$4.50-$4.75 a pot and the Canadiansare coming through with some at$2.75-$3.50 that are decent quality.So there's been some washout. Butby the same token, those who havestayed in the mum business — andI'm one of them — have found wecan't keep up with the demand.

"The same is true with poinset-tias. If you have good poinsettias,you'll sell them in your market andthere will be no problem from theCanadians."

Like Voigt, Layser believes theavailability of Canadian productswill help to increase overall consumption of floral products in the

December 1986 / Greenhouse Grower

VISIT

THE

LARGEST

GREENHOUSESHOW

IN THE WORLD

IflvFEB. 3-11, 1987

IN BEAUTIFUL HOLLAND(ALL PRICES IN CANADIAN DOLLARS)

$499. (Option "A") Price Includes:Airfare from Toronto, Canada • Cancella-tion insurance • Admission tothe NTV trade show • 2 days ofseminars organized by Priva Computers and PLLight Systems • Complimentary lunches at the seminars.

$1099. per person twinshare. (Option"B") Price Includes: all of Option "A"plus: 7 nights accommodation at thedeluxe 5 star Hotel Sofitel.The Hague;hotel service charges and taxes: fullAmerican style buffet breakfast daily.Fully escorted by Mrs. Henry Vuyk.

$59. per person. Day Tours for 3 Days.To such places as Delft, Gouda, Volen-dam, and the Delta Project. May bebooked with option "A" or "B".

$60 per person. Transfers Package:All return transfers from airport tohotel to NTV trade show, and toseminars.

Add-On Fares Available from All US. Cities

Car rentals and other insurance available

c\^kntinecIrsvd146 Laird Dr., Toronto, Ont.

416-429-2222

36 Secord Dr., St. Catharines, Ont.416-935-9103

or call Mrs. Henry Vuyk 416-934-0666205 Oxford St. East, London, Ont.

519-672-3161

"Serving the Holland traveller since 1951"

For Details Circle No. 107 on Postcard

56

U.S. He says the situation is similarto what happened when grocerystores and discount stores started tosell plants and flowers.

"The florists thought they werethe only ones who should handlethese products, but now that othersare selling them. the flower shops areactually selling more." he says.

NEW YORK

Ralph Genrich III. of Gcnrich'sGarden Center and Florist, Rochester, says that because of the competitiveness and good quality ofCanadian products, he often buysprefinished items to expand his ownproduction options.

"They produce a top quality, durable product." he says. "And theyhave it when you want it. They neverseem to run out.

"At Thanksgiving we buy prefinished chrysanthemums. And we buycut flowers from Canada all year."

Genrich says the Canadian cutscome in unboxed — a real plus because blooms are not crushed.

"They are delivered in buckets ofwater," he explains, "so the freshness can't be beat. We do quite abusiness with them."

WASHINGTON

Teri Visaya, of Ono Greenhouse,Des Moines, is a wholesale growerwho also manages a retail operation, so at times she finds herself onboth sides of the fence when it comesto dealing with Canadian imports.

"At the wholesale level we haveto compete with their lower prices,''

•IHHBI H U

she says, "but as a purchaser for retail, I wonder sometimes if I shouldgive in to the whim of buying Canadian because the price is right, orshould I stick with what's grown inWashington?"

On the wholesale level, Visayasays the greatest competition fromthe Canadians is on poinsettias.roses, and Easter lilies.

"It's hard to maintain any kind ofprofit margin," she says. "A lot ofthe product that comes across theborder is good and the price is good.That's what sometimes makes meso irate. How can you contend witha good product that has a reasonable price and still stay in the gameof growing something for a profit instead of growing it for break even?"

On the other hand, as a buyer forretail sales, Visaya sometimes buysCanadian products — especially cyclamen — either because of the priceor because it's available ahead of thelocally grown material.

"Since cyclamen are good retailsales items. I start pulling them in assoon as possible," she explains. "Iprefer the local cyclamen because Ifeel that those from Canada areforced a little faster and come out alittle softer. Locally, they are growncooler and are a little hardier. Iswitch over to them as soon as theyare available."

Even though Des Moines is a 2'/^-hour drive from the Canadian border, Visaya says all the wholesalehouses handle Canadian floral products so they are sold at retail outletsthroughout her area.

She says the Canadians have sev-

Bruce Bordine believes in free trade and mutual cooperation.

December 1986 / Greenhouse Grower

eral advantages including their auction system, the value of the U.S.dollar, and the fact that they don'thave to pay duty at the border forcrops grown in peat.

"Some of it is very good and someis not so good," she says of the Canadian quality. "'But consumersaren't really going to know the difference between the growth habit ofa Canadian plant and that of a localplant.Theyare more likely togq forthe price."

MICHIGAN

Bruce Bordine, of Bordine's Better Blooms, Rochester, says he's infavor of continuing Canadian imports while increasing U.S. exportsas well.

"We have a mutual admirationsociety between the U.S. and Canada," he says. "There are somesuper people in Canada. What weneed to do now isget the dollars backon a par value. Right now there is avery definite advantage for the Canadians exporting to the U.S."

Bordine, whose retail growingoperation is just 25 minutes from theborder, says that while it's an advantage to him to be able to buylowerpriced Canadianproducts, it'sa disadvantage for the U.S. wholesale grower.

"We have to get the Canadiandollar worth the same as the U.S.dollar," he says. "We need to findout who the people are who controlthedifference in exchangerates andsee if we can put some pressure toget the values back on a 1for 1 par.This would put tradeback ona quality for quality basis rather than giving the Canadiansaprice advantage.''

Bordine says, however, that he isopposed to any tariffs between thetwo countries and is concernedabout the recent action by the U.S.Department of Commerce that willlevy temporary import duties on cutflowers from Canada.

"It's my opinion that Canadashould be excluded from that," hesays. "We should have mutual freetrade. I believe that the NorthAmerican continent has to work together maybe against some othercountries, such as those in SouthAmerica, where they have supercheap labor and they don't worryabout their disease and insect control. Let's work in cooperation withCanada and Mexico and keep us allon a viable economic base." GG

Greenhouse Grower / December 1986

V it DECO

..

Belden Plastics, the company that brought you THEHANGING GARDEN, THE 1020 FLAT SYSTEM (JUMBOSQUARE and MM SQUARE], now brings a NEWCONCEPT in Bulb Pan sized containers to the growerand retailer. The DECO PAN line will provide you witha decorative plastic container at a fraction of the cost ofceramic or glass containers.

Create a Dish Garden, Mothers' Day Planter,Combination Planter, or bulb assortment for the home orpatio.

• Injection molded for strength andquality.

• Available in solid packs ofgreen orwhite with drainage holes.

• Available in 8", 10" and 12" diameter.

• A five color assortment pack (green,white, terra cotta, brown, ivory) is alsoavailable without drainage holes in 8"and 10" sizes.

Contact your nearest BELDEN Distributorfor Deco Pans today.

B ELXDEIST LASTICS

2582 LONG LAKE ROAD

ROSEVILLE, MINNESOTA 55113

800-328-2603

For Details Circle No. 103 on Postcard

"\

57

•