The horticultural market in France

Horticulture is the art of maintaining gardens and green spaces. According to the Interprofession de l'Horticulture, de la Fleuristerie et du Paysage, horticulture refers to the production of ornamental plants: cut flowers and foliage, indoor and outdoor potted plants, bedding plants (annuals and biennials), perennials, aquatic plants, trees (including Christmas trees), shrubs and flower bulbs used for ornamental purposes.

Seeds, vegetable seedlings, forestry seedlings for reforestation, fruit seedlings for arboricultural and fruit production, vine seedlings for wine production, aromatic, medicinal and perfume plants not intended for ornamental production are excluded. However, certain fruit plants and vegetable plants are included in the horticultural sector because they are also produced by horticulturists.

There are two distinct modes of horticultural production: indoor and outdoor.

The world market for flowers and ornamental plants was valued at 50.28 billion in 2021 and should continue to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% between 2021 and 2031, reaching 92.62 billion.It ismainly developed in Western countriesand dominated by the United States. [Business Research Insights]

The European market is also booming, and dominated by the Netherlands (31% of European production value). France ranks 5th with 10% of production value. [FranceAgriMer]

France's horticultural sector comprises over 50,000 companies involved in production, distribution andlandscaping, reflecting a highly fragmented market. Horticulturists are the main players in the value chain, accounting for around 6% of companies in the sector[FranceAgriMer]. There is then a wide variety of distribution channels, from direct sales to wholesalers and retailers (such as garden centers and florists).

Purely horticultural sales in France (excluding sales of other agricultural products, garden center articles, etc.) are in constant decline over a 10-year period (-31%), before rising slightly between 2019 and 2021 (+14%) . This decline is the result of increased competition from imports and a reduction in the number of players in the sector. This brings it to 1,617 million excluding VAT in 2021 [FranceAgriMer]

In 2022, 73% of households bought at least one plant [Kantar pour Valhor] . Thishigh consumption of ornamental plants and vegetation by the French is one of the reasons for thecountry's largely negative trade balance, and therefore for increased competition from imports. In fact,its imports will amount to1,142 million in 2022, while its exports will total just 95 million euros. [FranceAgriMer]

The rate of purchasing households is fairly stable compared to previous years, but still below the pre-crisis level (76%)[Kantar pour Valhor]. Covid-19 has had a real impact on this sector, especially sincethe closure of shops during this spring and calendar holiday period represented a loss of 3,600 jobs for the horticultural sector [Ouest-France], and a 17% drop in growers' sales over the March-June 2020 period [Strategy&].

Horticulture should, however, benefit from the new consumer appeal triggered by containment. We should also continue to see the number of production companies shrink and e-commerce develop. As the "pleasure" segment par excellence, horticulture will naturally benefit from the boom in second homes and demographic change.