Donate
DW

The pros and cons of the global flower market trade

Producer Samantha Baker and reporter Kathleen Schuster set out to learn more about the global flower market trade for our partners at the Deutsche Welle podcast, Living Planet.

DW & The World

A worker pulls a cart of freshly cut sunflowers at the Phytotec flower farm, which exports to the United States, in El Rosal, Colombia, Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

Fernando Vergara/AP

Freshly cut flowers are pretty to look at, but getting them to your local flower shop requires more than just picking them.

A flower kiosk in downtown Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 13, 2023. Vadim Ghirda/AP/File

Growing flowers requires a lot of time, water and energy. And the flower business employs millions of people worldwide.

A worker carries freshly cut sunflowers at the Phytotec flower farm, which exports to the United States, in El Rosal, Colombia, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Fernando Vergara/AP

Reporter Kathleen Schuster set out to learn more about the global flower market trade for our partners at the Deutsche Welle podcast, Living Planet.

Click the blue player above to hear the full story.

Will you support The World?

The story you just read is not locked behind a paywall because listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Now more than ever, we need your help to support our global reporting work and power the future of The World. Can we count on you?