Dry weather, pests, vog and lackluster customer demand took a toll on commercial growers of ornamental plants in Hawaii last year, pushing the sector of the state’s farm industry into a fifth straight year of lower sales.
The Hawaii field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated in a report this month that flower and nursery plant growers statewide produced $69.1 million in sales last year, down 1 percent or $500,000 from $69.6 million the year before.
Though the decline was slight, industry revenue slipped to a 15-year low after five consecutive years of shrinking sales.
Before the slide, sales peaked at $108.7 million in 2007. The last time sales were lower than last year’s total was 1997 when revenue totaled $66.6 million.
The agency said growers mentioned dry weather, pests, vog and generally slow sales as challenges they have faced in previous years and continued to face in 2012.
One bright spot was for landscaping plant material where estimated sales rebounded last year, rising 3 percent to $21.1 million from $20.4 million the year before.
Plants for landscaping, which appears to be rebounding with the economy and increased real estate development, represents about 30 percent of the flower and nursery plant category defined by the statistics service.
The next-largest segment of the category was orchids, representing about 21 percent of all flower and nursery plant sales. Orchid sales totaled $14.2 million last year, down 2 percent from $14.5 million the year before.
The service tracks flower and nursery plant producers with at least $10,000 in annual sales.
The agency said there were 950 flower and nursery farms statewide last year, down from 970 the year before and 1,025 in 2008.
