Valentine’s Day flower rush begins at Miami International Airport

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.