The Australian native cut flower and foliage industry exports a significant proportion of its production to Japan. However, rising air freight costs, a currently high A$ and increased competition have reduced profitability in this market to critical levels.
This project has investigated using sea freight to export Australian flowers and foliages. In recent times shipping times have decreased and container technology has improved, providing more reliable control of temperature and humidity. Most importantly, sea freight costs are approximately 60% those of air freight. If quality can be maintained, exporting by sea could directly improve profitability for Australian growers and exporters.