The greater part of U.S. demand is supplied by home-grown product from California and Hawaii. These are close to us, the flights are direct and the airfreight is relatively cheap. Major points of entry are Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. Secondary markets are emerging through Nagoya, Sendai, Hiroshima, Hokkaido, Taipei, Seoul and Hong Kong. Elsewhere, markets are less structured, and the volume that any one importer can handle is therefore much smaller.
Product is sent by airfreight in reinforced cardboard boxes.
Airfreight costs are structured on a sliding scale, the bulk being shipments of about 1000 kg. The capacity of proteaceous species to scavenge minute concentrations of phosphorus from deficient soil makes them vulnerable to toxicity when the phosphorus content of the fertiliser is high. Fertilisers must be applied with caution, preferably by fertigation using formulae suited to the soil. Protea and leucadendron are adapted to well drained, nutrient-poor soils and winter rainfall. They are vulnerable to Phytophthora root rot and fungal leaf diseases associated with summer rains.