Miami International Airport (MIA) is handling in excess of 300,000 flowers daily this week in the build up to Valentine’s Day.
The Florida gateway receives 91% of all flowers imported to the US, primarily from South American countries such as Colombia and Ecuador, the annual total amounting to more than 236,000 tons of produce valued at nearly $1.2 billion annually.
It notes that demand is so high this year that expects to handle up to 1.4 billion flower stems between January 1 to February 15 – a 17% increase over the same period in 2021.
The surge in flower power follows a 6% increase in imports at MIA during last year’s peak season compared to 2020.
MIA’s blooming flower trade is a big reason why the airport set a new record of 2.7 million tons of total freight in 2021, for its second consecutive year of growth.