In volume terms, this represented a 46-percent increase from 1994 and more than double the amount imported in 1988. In value terms, imports increased by 20 percent in 1995 and by 54 percent from 1988 to 1995. In 1995, roses from the Netherlands accounted for 49 percent of total UK imports in volume terms and 60 percent in value terms. The Netherlands s share of total value that year was largely unchanged from 1990, though its share of total volume in 1995 decreased by 9 percent. It is difficult to say how many of the roses exported from the Netherlands are actually grown there, but certainly with the slow growth in Dutch production, many of these flowers are actually imports from African nations and other countries being re-exported through Dutch auctions or other Dutch traders.
Auctions are popular with southern suppliers as well.
According to flower buyers, some southern suppliers prefer to sell through auctions because doing so is easier than selling direct to the United Kingdom. In a sense, auctions are safer than selling on consignment as well, because one is guaranteed of finding a buyer. However, this situation is changing as the number of flights into England from supplying countries increases and growers realize they can often make more money by supplying quality product directly rather than through auctions. In 1995, Kenya overtook Israel for the first time to become the second-largest supplier of roses to the United Kingdom, accounting for 14 percent of the market in volume. Kenyan growers were the pioneers of East Africa, but now face rising competition from a number of other African countries, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, and Uganda, as well as India.