Press release – 16 June  2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted and disrupted the EU Flower and Live Plants sector and market since early March 2020. In an unprecedented exercise, the four organisations representing the various segments of the sector in the EU (UNION FLEURS, ENA, AREFLH and COPA-COGECA), have joined forces and mobilised their member organisations across EU Member States to collect structured inputs in order to measure the exact impact of COVID-19 on the sector during the peak of the crisis in March and April 2020. A total of 33 contributions from 17 EU countries were received during the month of May.

This unique Survey Report provides a first measurement of the actual economic impact of COVID-19 on the EU flower & live plants sector at large. Losses reported for the sector across the EU reached an estimated total of 4.12 billion EUR in March and April 2020 in 17 EU countries across the 4 sub-sectors cut flowers, pot plants, bulbs and nursery stock, accounting for close to 10% of the annual total EU market value.

This first estimate clearly demonstrates the brutal impact that the pandemic and lockdown measures implemented across the EU have had on the sector during the peak of the Spring season. These losses will never be recovered and will have to be absorbed by the thousands of companies of the flower & live plants sector in the EU. Coupled with the lack of a uniform and coordinated response so far by national governments across the EU, this further reinforces the need for a more meaningful and direct EU financial support to the sector.

For further information:

• Joint Press Release from UNION FLEURS, ENA and AREFLH
• Infographic 1: Estimated economic losses from COVID-19 -EU flower & live plants sector (March & April 2020)
• Infographic 2: Financial support measures for the sector across the EU