Structure and Market Organization of Florida's Landscape Plant Industry

A comprehensive survey of the Florida landscape plant nursery industry was conducted in 1989 in order to document its characteristics. Responses to a mailed-out questionnaire were received from 104 firms. Questions addressed in the survey included product sales, marketing practices, distribution areas, pricing and exchange arrangements. Sales reported by responding firms totaled $125 million, representing an estimated 59% of total industry sales. Current problems of the industry are discussed in relation to its structural characteristics: larger firms as compared to smaller firms had higher labor productivity, more seasonal sales, greater emphasis on container production rather than field production, more deciduous products, more distant and indirect market outlets, and more negotiable sales arrangements with a higher percentage of repeat customers. Also, within the past decade, an increasing proportion of Florida's landscape plants have been marketed within the state, while the share of sales to other states has been decreasing. At the same time, exports to other countries have increased substantially.