China’s flower supply: Kazakhstan sees 13x import surge

Kazakhstan has dramatically increased flower imports from China, surging nearly 13 times from $0.6 million in 2023 to $7.5 million in 2024. As a result, China is now the fourth-largest flower supplier to Kazakhstan, rising from its previous fifth-place position.

In 2024, Kazakhstan imported a total of $93.6 million worth of flowers, a 52.8% increase year-on-year (YoY) from $61.3 million.

The top five flower suppliers to Kazakhstan remain Ecuador, the Netherlands, Kenya, China and Colombia, collectively accounting for 97.5% of total flower imports. Even with a 13-fold increase in exports, China’s share of Kazakhstan’s flower imports only reached 8%, though that’s a substantial jump from 1% in 2023.

The remaining 2.5% of imports came from Russia ($0.6 million), Uzbekistan ($0.43 million), Belarus ($0.4 million), Israel ($0.3 million) and other countries.

Roses dominate Kazakhstan’s flower imports, representing 65% of the market and valued at $61 million in 2024. Other popular varieties include chrysanthemums, carnations, lilies, orchids, ranunculuses and gladioli.

Kazakhstan’s flower exports in 2024 totaled $7.7 million, with 99.2% of shipments going to Russia. The remaining 0.8% was exported to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. This marks a significant rise from $2.67 million in 2023.

Zhuldyz Flowers, a Kazakhstan-based flower company, reports that spray roses, hydrangeas and tulips are the top choices for local customers right now.

The company also highlighted China’s increasing role in flower imports, noting that 40% of their imported flowers now originate from China, alongside other major suppliers like Kenya, Ecuador and Colombia. Additionally, the company shared that it cultivates 30% of the flowers it sells, reducing reliance on imports.

Previous media reports indicated that in the first 11 months of 2024, Russia’s flower imports from Kazakhstan surged 50-fold YoY.