Cold weather in the run up to Christmas meant that flower exports from Israel declined by 30% and as a result flower prices were forced up throughout Europe. 

The low temperatures, mainly at night, caused delays in flowering and affected shipping targets, a situation that was still in effect at the end of December.

Haim Hadad, secretary of Israel Flowers Growers Organization, said in a report in Hortibiz that the delays were causing economic damages. “Growers plans their season in such a way that flowers will be ready before Christmas, when demand is at its peak.  Given the flowers will now only reach the market in January there is a risk they will get lower prices and that will impact on their trading figures.”

The flowers affected included Wax flower, Lizianthus, Madonna Lilly and Trachelium 'Shine', some of the most important crops to come out of Israel. As a result and given the shortages, prices of these lines rose by between 20 and 40% across Europe which in turn impacted on florists and packers.

The delay in blooming is the latest in a long line of misfortune faced by Israeli growers. Following the collapse of Agrexco late last year and a gap in supply some of their key markets were taken by African growers, who quickly jumped in to take advantage of the gap while worker shortages are a constant headache due to the fact the quota agreed on has not been met by central government. As a result just 400 growers exist in Israel compared to several thousand and exports have dropped to around €100 million.