Bottom
Following the collapse of the shrimp industry in the mid-1980s, an interesting industry slowly emerged in the early 1990s as dynamic and aggressive female entrepreneurs turned their expensive hobby into a profitable, enjoyable, multi-million dollar industry. This paved the way for the birth of the Floriculture Industry in the Capiz Province. From a dark industry, it grew to become one of the rapidly expanding agribusiness sectors in the province today, involving more than 5,000 stakeholders, florists, landscapers, contractors, technologists, input suppliers, agricultural technicians and gardeners.
Capiz is a major producer of potted orchid and orchid cut flowers, gardening supplies, fresh foliage, and potted ornamentals throughout the Visayas. It is also recognized as one of the sources of the best and rarest ferns in the country today. Currently, little by little it is consolidating itself as the main source of exportable cut foliage in the country.
The City of Roxas leads the number of producers in the province with ten (10) commercial farms located here. It is also considered as the commercialization center with the presence of 4 points of sale such as the Paseo de Catedral, Balay Kapisnon, the Teodoro Arcenas Shopping Center and the Talon Garden Center. It is followed by the municipalities of Sigma, Dao, Panay and Ivisan. In December 2005, the total area devoted to floriculture was estimated to be over one hundred hectares.
Behind the strength of the industry is the Capiz Multipurpose Cooperative (CMPC), which acts as the main coordinating body for cut flower and ornamental plant producers throughout the province. It works closely with relevant National Government Agencies (NGAs), Local Government Units (LGUs) and industry associations to provide a conducive business climate for the industry to develop and grow. All the major producers in the province are members of the Capiz MPC. It is an organization duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority and the Department of Commerce and Industry.
The local ornamental industry group is comprised of major industries, supplier industries, and other industries that provide related and other services. The cluster is made up of key interconnected and interdependent industries and institutions.
Vision
A unified, self-sufficient, environmentally friendly and globally competitive floriculture industry to improve the quality of life of its members and the community and to be known as the “Foliage Capital of the Philippines”.
Suppliers of services and supplies: this category includes the following:
Landscape Artists – Those who provide landscaping services to homes, public and commercial buildings, subdivisions, memorial parks, others. There are currently around 9 well-known professional landscapers in the province.
Floral Artists – Those who provide flower arranging services for occasions such as weddings, funerals, debut, graduation, product launches, grand openings, etc. Most of the floral artists are concentrated in the Paseo de Catedral located near the Metropolitan Cathedral of the city of Roxas, since they are also cut flower merchants.
Cut flower / ornamental plant merchants: are those who are dedicated solely to the sale of cut flowers and ornamental plants. They sell at a permanent stall / location (like Balay Kapisnon, Cathedral Walk) or are ambulatory (like most merchants during municipal / city market days).
Input suppliers: include those who are dedicated to the sale of inputs and accessories for the garden, such as organic fertilizers (Hacienda Olive), terracotta / plastic pots and medium for soilless plants.
Industry status and performance
Production
Cut flowers
The province produces only a few varieties of cut flowers on a commercial scale. These are orchids (white dendrobiums), roses and asters (white and lilac). Other low-grade varieties produced on a limited scale include dahlias, lily, African daisies, variegated heleconias, and gladioli (orange). Orchid cut flowers and heleconia peaked between 1995 and 2000, with 4 commercial farms producing a total yield of 1,500 dozen per week. The production volume fell slowly over the past 5 years as more and more flowers from outside the province flooded the local market. Currently, only one farm grows orchids.
Fresh foliage and live plants
Foliage plants comprised 80% of the ornamental plant industry in Capiz and have become an important source of livelihood for many families. Most foliage plants are grown on commercial farms and back gardens in Sigma, Dao, Panay, Ivisan, and Roxas City.
Foliage plants are sold as cut, potted, or live plants. Potted plants serve as houseplants and landscaping, while cut foliage is for flower arrangements.
The demand for foliage plants is increasing. During the last 10 years, foliage plants, whether cut or live, have the largest share of the export market. Currently, Capiz is the only province that exports cut foliage to Japan in all of Luzon and the Visayas.
Main products sold
Industry products and services include cut flowers, potted flowering plants and vegetables, cuttings, cut foliage, gardening supplies, non-soil rooting media, flower arranging services, landscaping services.
A. Cut flowers: they are so called because they are detached from the mother plants and are formed in bouquets, necklaces, arrangements, centerpieces and the like. They are grown and marketed for their aesthetic value. They are given in gratitude and as an expression of love, joy and encouragement on occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays and special events such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and All Saints / Souls Day. The main cut flowers produced by the province are orchids such as dendrobiums and vanda terrete; roses, fucking-fucking, heleconias and gladiolas.
B. Filler flowers: includes white and lilac asters and baby’s breath.
C. Cut and Container Foliage Plants: Refers to fresh leaves, twigs and branches freshly cut and used in flower arrangements, evergreens and container grown foliage plants for indoor and outdoor decorations. The main cut foliage produced by the province are dracaenas, polycias, palms, Indian ridge, Korean ridge, kamuning, cordylines, bottlebrush, rhappis, and ferns.
D. Potted Plants: Annual flowering plants, shrubs, perennial herbaceous plants grown in containers used for outdoor and indoor decorations. The most popular flowering pot plants grown here include orchids, euphorbia, hibiscus, and bromeliads.
Gardening Materials: Plants consisting of evergreen and flowering trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, grass covers, and vans used for landscaping purposes. The following are some of the high value palms grown in the province: Champagne, Bismarck, Hawaiian Fox Tail, Red & Blue Palm, and Sugar Palm. Meanwhile, some of the most cultivated ground covers include mundograss, golden peanuts, carabao grass, Bermuda grass, and chichi Rica.
Rooting media other than soil: coconut coir / powder, organic fertilizer, driftwood, fern wood, and chips.
Organic Fertilizer – locally produced and manufactured soil improvers. One of the most used brands is RANCAP, which is made by Hacienda Olive in Pontevedra.
Services: landscaping, flower arranging, cliniquing / plant consulting
Existing commercial houses
1. Cathedral Walk
Arsobizpo St., City of Roxas
2. Balay Kapisnon
McKinley St., City of Roxas
Telephone. No. (036) 621-3445
3. Talon Garden Center
Mayo Street Primer, Roxas City
VII. Industry potentials
The industry has great potential for development due to the following factors:
Available technology and support
§ Availability of adequate production technologies from external sources.
§ Government and research institutions such as DTI, DA / BPI, DOST, PCARRD could very well provide the necessary technical and logistical support for the development of the industry.
§ There are production technologies for the extraction of essential oils that have great demands in the national and export markets.
Strong workforce and producer association
§ Affiliation to industrial associations at the national level
§ Existence of the Capiz Multipurpose Cooperative, which acts as the coordinating organization for all cut flower and ornamental growers in the province.
§ The province has a supply of capable labor force.
Favorable environment
The province does not have a pronounced dry or wet season that is suitable for growing ornamental plants. Also, the province is rarely visited by strong typhoons.
Large tracts of land are still available for development.
Increasing demand
Growing national and international demand due to the growing appreciation of the aesthetic value and environmental importance of ornamental crops.
Proximity to other Asian markets that puts Capiz in a good position to serve emerging markets.
The opening of the Iloilo International Airport improves the capacity for international trade.
VIII. Projections
Imports (intranational and international)
Fresh cut flowers will dominate the province’s imports of ornamental plant products. These imported flowers are those that are not produced locally due to climatic conditions such as chrysanthemums, lilies, roses, anthuriums, stattice, gerberas, carnation and some varieties of gladiolas. Other live plants, cuttings and slips will be approached that will also be used as planting material or mother plants. Third are the orchid seedlings. Flowers have seasonal demands
