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Can Singapore's orchid industry bloom again?

SINGAPORE — Amid a sharp slump in the global orchid trade and daunting local conditions, farmers here hope to chart their future with the National Parks Board (NParks) to ensure that the celebrated native flora can continue to blossom.

A customer at Woon Leng Nursery on Sunday (Jan 14). Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

A customer at Woon Leng Nursery on Sunday (Jan 14). Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — Amid a sharp slump in the global orchid trade and daunting local conditions, farmers here hope to chart their future with the National Parks Board (NParks) to ensure that the celebrated native flora can continue to blossom.

Local orchid production fell to a 10-year low in 2016, according to most recent statistics of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA).

Between 2007 and 2016, orchid production fell starkly by 40 per cent — from 10 million to six million stalks.

Production peaked at about 11 million stalks in 2011. That year, the Republic also saw the highest trade value from orchid exports, amounting to US$23.4 million.

Over the same decade, the value of Singapore’s orchid exports fell 45 per cent, from US$16.1 million in 2007 to US$8.9 million in 2016, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database.

A close-up shot of an orchid. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

NParks, which took over the management and development of the orchid sector from the AVA this year, said the decline in local production of orchids could be “in part due to the moderation in global orchid trade flows”.

It is in the midst of working with the industry on its “future direction”, including strategies for the export of orchids, said Mr Sim Cheng Hai, NParks’ group director for industry and the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology.

“With this oversight of the orchid industry, NParks will consolidate its efforts for the orchid sector with the broader landscape industry for a holistic approach. NParks and AVA jointly visited and engaged all 21 orchid growers last year to understand their situation and needs,” he said.

STORIED PAST

Orchid production has a storied past here. According to a speech in 1999 at the first colloquium on orchid research and industry by then-Minister of State for National Development and Communications and Information Technology John Chen, orchid breeding started in Singapore in 1928 and export began in 1939.

Singapore was in 1999 the second-largest exporter in the world after Thailand. There were 103 farms producing orchids and ornamental plants on 371 hectares of land.

The Republic's reputation for producing high-quality orchids was cemented after awards won at international flower shows, said Dr Chen in his speech, found on the National Archives of Singapore's website.

The Government, through the Primary Production Department (PPD)’s Orchid and Ornamental Plant Centre collaborated with the industry and research institutes to improve production, transfer technologies and promote the industry through floriculture shows and trade missions, he had said.

Producers approached by TODAY said rising costs of foreign labour and shorter land leases have made orchid-growing here a challenging business. In addition, there is fierce competition from countries like Thailand and Taiwan, which are able to produce the flowers at lower costs.

In 2011, Singapore was the third-largest orchid exporter — in terms of value its exports commanded — behind the Netherlands and Thailand. The Republic fell to fourth place in 2016 after it was overtaken by Taiwan.

FROM STALKS TO POTTED ORCHIDS

“The landscape is quite discouraging for industry players. Labour costs have increased, the farmlands have shrunk… The Government is re-organising (its management of this industry) and there is a lot of uncertainty ahead,” said Mr Too Peng San, the 72-year-old managing director of Toh Orchids.

Singapore’s current environment does not facilitate orchid-growing, said Toh Garden’s Toh Hongyi, who called the trade a “long-term investment”.

The 33-year-old cited how farm plots in Lim Chu Kang and Seletar have been acquired by the Government for other uses, and affected farms often have to settle for smaller plots of land with shorter leases.

“Growing them from seedling to mature flowers takes about two years. It doesn’t make sense to invest if the lease period is too short as cost recovery is not possible with few crop cycles,” Mr Toh.

A worker working at Toh Garden on Sunday (Jan 14). Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

Levies for hiring foreign workers have also gone up over the years, the farmers lamented. Levies for foreign staff can set the farm back by up to S$800 per head per month— almost a four-fold jump from in 2013.

“It’s not that we do not want to hire locals, but not many Singaporeans would tend towards such jobs,” said Mr Teo Woon Cheng, who manages Woon Leng Nursery.

“Prices for orchid stalks have remained roughly the same even as costs have shot up… We need to find ways to re-invent and move up the value chain… You have got to keep changing to stay viable and profitable,” the 45-year-old added.

He has tried to innovate and go high-tech.

Mr Teo Woon Cheng of Woon Leng Nursery keeps his orchids in greenhouses with automatic temperature regulation. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

At his 2.5-hectare nursery, orchids are kept in greenhouses with automatic temperature regulation to reduce the need for foreign workers. Last year, Mr Teo’s team also adopted a system that allows employees to adjust temperatures using their mobile devices.

Woon Leng nursery is one of many orchid farms that have shifted their business towards mature, potted orchids — often imported from other countries — instead of stalks.

Orchids at Woon Leng Nursery. Photo: Jason Quah/TODAY

Each stalk of orchid retails at S$0.50 to S$3 but takes at least two years to be harvested from seedlings, while each pot fetches an average of S$10 to S$20 and takes only about three months to “nurture”.

Mr Too, who has been exporting orchids for the last 40 years, is another such farmer. Half of the orchids at his 4.5-hectare farm are sold in pots, and half are in stalks.

“At one time, the majority of my orchids were sold in stalks, but we are looking for faster returns now because of increase in costs of production… We have to look for higher-value orchid products,” he said.

At Toh Garden, demand for stalk orchids has fallen slightly over the last decade, while that for potted orchids has tripled, said Mr Toh.

Orchids must not lose their shine here, said Mr Teo, as they are an “iconic” part of Singapore’s culture. “Our country also has a unique culture of naming selected hybrids after celebrities,” he said.

Then, there is the role of the authorities. The fate of the industry is largely dependent on government policies, said the farmers.

“Orchid farms have very specialised infrastructure, and when their leases are discontinued, the farms are not compensated for their efforts in developing such infrastructure,” Mr Toh said.

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