Daffodil growers given reprieve to continue as normal

THE UK Government has announced that growing season inspections will be granted during the current situation, which is the first stage that will hopefully allow daffodil growers to export bulbs in the coming months.

However, there is no respite for the 4.7 million bunches of flowers left in the fields on the east coast of Scotland, which became yet another casualty of the coronavirus pandemic.

The SF spoke to the Managing Director of Grampian Growers Ltd, Mark Clark, who works with 13 daffodil growers in the region, producing six million bunches of flowers each Spring.

“We decided as a board that we weren’t prepared to put our pickers and packers at risk during the lockdown and closed down operations until we got clarification from Scottish Government and Police Scotland.

“Daffodils grow very quickly, so by the time the Scottish Government clarified flower picking to be essential, we had already lost 90% of our flower pickers, 75% of our flowers and 85% of our customers.

Around £1.2 million worth of flowers were left in the field which was a huge setback to members.

Mr Clark continued: “This was a huge blow to our members as the margin they make from fresh flowers is an important part of their business. We had a fantastic start to the season with plenty of pickers and demand was strong for our crop – we had 200 flower pickers ready 10 days prior to lockdown but were left with only 12 in the end.”

Grampian growers will now turn to their main line of business, which has been given the go-ahead to continue as normal, with inspections now taking place across farms to clear bulbs for export in the early summer.

With six weeks left before bulbs are due to be lifted from the ground, Mr Clark explained that there are still some hurdles facing the industry.

“We have a unique product which is in high demand around the world. Around 97% of our bulb business is exported, with 50% of our bulbs going to America and around 45% to mainland Europe, with Holland the largest buyers.

“We think we have time to see how the current pandemic plays out around the world and how that might impact on demand and we are putting every measure in place to give our growers confidence as it is an important and profitable part of their business.”

He pointed out that there are concerns as to whether or not they will be able to ship their product and if customers will be open for business.

In six weeks’ time, harvesting will begin and bulbs will be lifted over a six week period where the bulbs are dried and sized before being packed for the first exports which are expected to leave on July 4. Grampian Growers expects to export around 4000 tonnes of bulbs globally which contribute to 40% of their annual turnover.

Unlike daffodil flower picking, there are very few people involved in lifting bulbs and it is all done by mechanical handling. Mr Clark has already put in plans to rearrange the packing sheds allowing two metres between workers and will adjust shifts to ensure there are less people in the pack-houses.