Due to rising costs, flowers for All Saints’ Day are more expensive by up to 30 percent

Ahead of All Saints’ Day, when citizens traditionally decorate the graves of their loved ones with floral arrangements, there is a noticeable increase in flower prices of 20 to 30 percent compared to last year. Experts explain that the reason for this is the rise in input costs, such as fuel, seeds, or transportation.

The floristry profession, like other craft professions, is facing a number of factors affecting business – rising input costs, a shortage of workers, and unfair competition that particularly impacts the floristry sector, say representatives from the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts.

The government has shown that it is aware of the problems faced by craftsmen by limiting electricity prices, but energy costs are not the only item affecting business expenses.

They emphasize that the procurement prices of flowers and raw materials have significantly increased, as have transportation costs and labor costs, and the industry is also affected by climate change and increasingly frequent weather disasters, all of which is reflected in the final price of floral arrangements.

The Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts also reminds of the amendments to the Trade Act, which, in their opinion, most affect those craftsmen whose main market orientation is on Sundays and holidays, when they generate most of their revenue.

These are craftsmen who operate in cemeteries and shrines related to churches and souvenir shops, who are business and market-oriented precisely on the days when citizens most frequently visit these places – on Sundays and holidays.

Therefore, the Chamber welcomed the government’s decision to declare All Saints’ Day a market day at the national level.

– This decision is of great importance for us florists and all related activities. Many of us base our production and business precisely in relation to this holiday. In this case, we could speak not only of unrealized income but also of significant losses, considering that we must secure the necessary materials in advance – says Edita Merćep, president of the Florists Section of the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts.

The inability to work on All Saints’ Day, as she pointed out, would be irreparable for them, and for a significant number, it would mean the end of their business.

– This decision at this level puts all Croatian florists in the same position where they do not depend on the reactions of their local government units and can plan their work. It is especially important that it applies to shops, not just to external sales – said Merćep.

Allowing wholesale purchases only for registered entrepreneurs

The Chamber emphasizes that they continuously appeal for greater controls of unregistered economic activities, including the control of wholesale purchases of raw materials with the aim of combating unfair competition that threatens legal business and harms the state budget.

They believe that the purpose of wholesale trade is to enable craftsmen and other legal entities exclusive rights to purchase goods under more favorable conditions compared to other entities that do not have this right by law.

They point out that a significant problem is the tolerance of wholesale purchases of floristry products by individuals, agricultural family farms, and legal entities that are not registered for floristry activities, under the same conditions that florists whose primary activity is floristry have.

This, they said in the Chamber, calls into question the profitability and sustainability of floristry craftsmen.

Support measures can also act in reducing the gray economy by encouraging individuals engaged in unregistered activities to register and operate in accordance with regulations. The best is certainly a combination of both types of measures, they emphasized from the Chamber.

They believe that more intensive action to combat the gray economy not only reduces unfair competition and addresses the issue of tax and other obligations to the state but also protects consumers and their rights, which do not have a protection mechanism in the gray economy.

Flower cultivation on 210 hectares

According to data from the Crafts Register of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, as of October 30 of this year, there were 795 active crafts with registered activities in the retail trade of flowers, seedlings, seeds, fertilizers, pets, and pet food in specialized shops. Of these, for 245 crafts, this is the main activity.

There are 556 active crafts with registered floristry and arrangement services, of which 288 crafts have this as their main activity, while there are 873 active crafts in the cultivation of other annual crops, which includes flower cultivation and the production of cut flowers and flower buds, of which 45 crafts have this as their main activity.

The Chamber notes that crafts can register one or more activities, meaning that the same craft can appear in multiple groups.

According to data from the Croatian Bureau of Statistics (DZS) for 2022, flower and ornamental plant production takes place on 210 hectares.

When it comes to flower production under support systems, data from the Agency for Payments in Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Development show that 485 agricultural farms produce flowers in Croatia.

According to data from the Croatian Chamber of Economy (HGK), in the first seven months of this year, imported cut flowers, fresh and dried, amounted to 10.3 million euros, which is an increase of 24 percent compared to the same period last year, while exports amounted to 486.3 thousand euros, a decrease of 0.5 percent.