‘We want to expand the market for our orchids’
What kind of company do you have?
“We are one of the largest orchid exporters in Thailand. We produce orchids in the western and northern parts of Bangkok and we also buy orchids from other growers. In addition, we breed and propagate orchid in our lab. We export more than 100 varieties including dendrobium, oncidium, mokara, vanda, lucky bamboo, heliconia and carnation.
Which countries do you export to?
“We export orchids to many countries. Australia, Korea, Egypt, the Middle East, Japan, China, India and also to Amsterdam. We export orchid plants in bottles as well as seedlings and flowering potted plants. Our turnover is around 3.5 million dollars a year.”
How would you describe the rhythm of your sales?
“The important days are from September to Mother’s Day in May. After that, in June, July, it gets a bit quieter. Things start up again in August, when demand from Japan usually grows.”
How’s business?
“Business is going well. There’s one problem though; because of political problems in Thailand, we no longer have a GPS (general scheme of preferences) agreement with Europe. That means that taxes have to be paid on our flowers now. Hopefully, there’ll be a GPS for Thailand again in a few years time. We want to expand the market for our flowers and that’s why we were at the fair in Warsaw in the beginning of September. We would like to export to countries like Poland, Slovakia and Austria. It was our first time in Poland. Other years, we used to go to Essen and Vijfhuizen.”
Isn’t transportation very tricky?
“Our flowers sometimes take a long time to arrive. It could take as many as ten days; first on a plane and then on by lorry, for example from Amsterdam to Russia. That’s why we conducted our own studies into the best way to package the flowers during transport. We have developed a special packaging that keeps the flowers in good shape for up to ten days of transportation and a seven-day sales period. Apart from the use of this special packaging, we also ship flowers in bottles so that they are fed during transport.”
Wuthichai Pipatmanomai
Company: Sun International Flower, Thailand
Place: Bangkok, Thailand
Products: Orchids
Turnover: 3.5 million dollar
