What does it mean for the flower industry to enter the 4.0 era?
Last week, the 18th Kunming International Flower Expo was held in Kunming, with flower companies from all over the country gathering in Kunming, setting off a new round of brainstorming about "Yunhua" (Yunnan flowers). The formation of the Yunhua Group and the signing of agreements between more than 10 investors from within and outside the province and the Yunnan (Honghe) Modern Flower Industry Park have pushed the industrialization process of Yunhua a big step forward. Wang Minzheng, Party Secretary and Director of the Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture, said while attending the activities of the flower expo: "The formation of the Yunhua Group and the launch of construction of projects such as the Yunnan (Honghe) Modern Flower Industry Park mean that Yunnan's flower industry is undergoing a major transformation, which will have an epoch-making impact on the Yunhua industry entering the 4.0 era. We will give full support and preferential treatment in terms of projects, funds and policies."
Yunhua attracts the attention of numerous investors
In recent years, the scale of Yunnan's flower industry has continued to grow, its layout has become increasingly reasonable, the strength of business entities has continued to improve, its advantages have become more prominent, its products have become more abundant, its capacity for scientific and technological support has been significantly enhanced, and the supply of new and superior products has continued to increase. Data from the provincial Department of Agriculture show that in the first half of 2017, Yunnan Province's total flower planting area reached 1.21 million mu, an increase of 10.1% over the same period last year; the total output value reached 21.51 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 11%; and the total export value reached 97.965 million US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%.
Yunnan flowers are showing a sound momentum of steady and sustained growth in the primary industry and integrated development of the secondary and tertiary industries; they are now entering a new stage of transformation and upgrading. Data show that in 2016, Yunnan Province's fresh cut flower output was 10.06 billion stems, there were 2,136 flower enterprises, and flower farmers' income was 11.5 billion yuan. Among these, fresh cut flowers firmly held more than 70% of the national market share, leading the country's flower industry; and the production scale of flowers for processing such as edible roses and preserved flowers also firmly ranked first in the country. Perhaps because of this, Yunhua has attracted the attention of numerous investors, with capital from all sides converging on Yunnan's flower industry. Since the beginning of this year, well-known enterprises such as Poly Real Estate, Qingzhou Flower Group, Xianke Asia, Longshi Media and Kunchuan Group have repeatedly surveyed Yunnan's flower industry seeking cooperation. Companies such as Shanghai Aishang, Eurasia Flowers and Zhongkun Investment have already settled in Kunming and Yunnan and launched project construction.
Cao Ronggen, President of the Yunnan Provincial Flower Industry Federation, introduced that after more than 30 years of development, Yunnan Province's flower industry has shown a sound momentum in which the advantages of fresh cut flowers and potted flowers are prominent, and seedlings (seed bulbs), landscaping and ornamental nursery stock, flowers with local characteristics, processed flowers and flower tourism are flourishing, and it is advancing toward a new business format featuring diversified categories and modernized production.
Multiple flower technologies reach world-leading levels
"Yunnan's flower industry advantage lies not only in climate, but even more in innovative development," said Tong Zhou, General Manager of Kunming Yangyueji Horticulture Co., Ltd. The hydrangea varieties independently developed by the company, such as "Hulan", "Chazi Yanzhong" and "Qinghuaci", can fully "speak" for China, especially "Hulan", which can be planted in the open field and adapts to the extreme flower temperature difference of minus 12 degrees to 35 degrees. This variety will be licensed to foreign producers for planting in September this year.
In addition to Yangyueji Company, a group of flower enterprises such as Kunming Anthura Horticulture Co., Ltd. and Mile Pinyuan Horticulture Co., Ltd. have also made breakthrough progress in the research and development of technologies such as substrate cultivation and integrated water and fertilizer management over the past two years, and these have been widely applied. Taking rose production as an example, under the planting and management model of the above enterprises, the average yield of roses can reach 115,000 stems per mu, and the output value per mu can reach 500,000 yuan, which are 3 times and 10 times the average level of all Yunnan, respectively; the output value per mu of potted roses can even reach 1 million yuan.
Du Jianhui, Party Leadership Group Member and Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture, introduced that Yunnan is the province with the strongest strength in China in breeding new flower varieties and researching and developing key practical technologies. As of 2016, a total of 560 new flower varieties had been bred, and 302 new flower varieties had obtained national authorization, with the number authorized accounting for more than half of the country; the province had more than 100 innovative technologies and patents, had formulated 70 national, industry and local standards of various types, and multiple flower cultivation technologies had reached world-leading levels.
In addition, Yunnan's flower products are continuously extending from ornamental uses to other fields. At this year's flower expo, in addition to fresh cut flowers, there were also accessories such as rings and bracelets made with fresh flowers as raw materials, as well as fresh flower health-preserving teas. At present, Yunhua has achieved organic integration with Yunnan tobacco, Yunnan medicine, Yunnan tea and industries such as tourism, food and daily chemicals, creating a diverse, rich and uniquely distinctive series of products. In particular, flower-themed flower tourism is rising in western Yunnan; the flower processing industry, mainly based on edible roses and preserved flowers, is developing rapidly, and its deeply processed products are gradually integrating into fields such as health care and daily chemicals. The flower industry chain is continuously lengthening, and the depth and breadth of industrial development are continuously extending, accelerating the pace of integrated development of the three industries of the flower industry and mutually integrated development across multiple fields.
The Yunhua industry still needs continuous transformation and upgrading
Although Yunhua shows a sound momentum of steady and sustained growth in the primary industry and integrated development of the secondary and tertiary industries, Wang Minzheng believes that Yunnan's good foundation for flower industry development does not mean it will necessarily prosper in the future, and Yunnan still needs continuous transformation and upgrading and improvement of its tier.
Some forecasts show that with the improvement of people's living standards, flower consumption is gradually becoming a trend in personal consumption, and national flower consumption is increasing at an average annual rate of more than 10%. China, with a population of 1.3 billion, undoubtedly brings the flower industry a consumer market with huge potential. However, this market also has the characteristics of diversification and personalization, which requires integrating various resources and gathering all kinds of production factors to form the ability to lead industrial development and improve resistance to market risks. To this end, at this year's flower expo, Kunming Industrial Development Investment Co., Ltd., Kunming Dounan International Flower Industry Park Development Co., Ltd. and Yunnan Jinyuan Flower Industry Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation agreement to jointly form the Yunhua Group and drive the output value of Kunming's flower industry to reach 10 billion yuan by the end of the "13th Five-Year Plan". At the same time, the Yunnan (Honghe) Modern Flower Industry Park held a special investment promotion conference, and more than 10 investors from within and outside the province signed cooperation agreements with the park.
In Cao Ronggen's view, forming the Yunhua Group is a need for industrial development and even more a need for regional economic development. Likewise, building the Yunnan (Honghe) Modern Flower Industry Park is both an important carrier for raising the development level of Yunnan's flower industry and a platform for government-enterprise exchange and cooperative interaction. Industry observers analyze and believe that Kunming is the core area of Yunnan's flower industry development, but with the acceleration of urbanization and industrial transformation and upgrading, Kunming's flower industry must shift from the past development model to the top level of the industry, and transform into a flower trading center, headquarters center, cultural center and so on. Therefore, the formation of the Yunhua Group and the Yunnan (Honghe) Modern Flower Industry Park are in fact one of the important supporting platforms for Yunnan's flower industry entering the 4.0 era, and also an important lever for advancing the structural reform of Yunnan's agricultural supply side.