Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
Ontario flower farm adapts as US tariffs cut into business
Rosa Flora is a family-run flower farm in Dunnville, Ontario, about 60 kilometres south of Hamilton.
Corine and Otto Bulk started the company in 1978, and their daughter Arielle and son-in-law Ralph DeBoer now own it.
The farm employs about 200 people and grows millions of flower stems each year for wholesalers across North America.
About 60 to 70 per cent of its flowers go to the United States, where 50-per-cent tariffs on Canadian flower exports have reduced the company’s profits and made it less competitive.
Rosa Flora focuses on flowers that are difficult to grow and ship, and uses refrigerated trucks to deliver them quickly and keep them fresh.
The company is raising prices slightly and assessing support programs, while its owners say a broader solution depends on Canada and the United States returning to negotiations.
Rosa Flora, a family flower farm in Dunnville, Ontario, says 50-per-cent U.S. tariffs on Canadian flower exports have reduced its profitability and competitiveness.
About 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the farm’s flowers are shipped to the United States.
The company employs about 200 people and produces millions of stems each year for wholesalers across North America.
Owners Ralph and Arielle DeBoer say the business is adapting by focusing on hard-to-grow products, raising fees slightly and investing in efficiency.
The farm is also assessing government support programs, while Arielle DeBoer says a broader solution depends on Canada and the U.S. returning to negotiations.
- Who
- Rosa Flora, owned by Ralph and Arielle DeBoer, is adapting to the tariffs.
- What
- The farm says U.S. tariffs on Canadian flower exports have cut into its competitiveness and profitability.
- When
- The tariffs are described as current; a specific start date is not stated.
- Where
- Rosa Flora is based in Dunnville, Southern Ontario, and exports flowers to the United States.
- Why
- The 50-per-cent tariffs have made its flowers less competitive in the U.S. and reduced profitability.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Otto and Corine Bulk started Rosa Flora with a single greenhouse of hybrid tea roses.
Rosa Flora expanded into crops including gerbera, snapdragons and lisianthus.
Rosa Flora introduced a small fee increase and began assessing government support programs.
- Tariff rate
- 50 per cent on Canadian flower exports to the United States
- U.S. export share
- About 60 per cent to 70 per cent of Rosa Flora’s flowers
- Location
- Dunnville, Southern Ontario, 60 kilometres south of Hamilton
- Workforce
- About 200 people
- Annual production
- Millions of stems
- Fleet
- 35 climate-controlled trucks
What people are saying
It’s the hard products that maybe somebody else has a difficult time growing and shipping that we actually excel at
We’re not necessarily the lowest-cost jurisdiction
a broader solution depends on Canada and the U.S. returning to the negotiating table
But we could only sell so many roses
Sources
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