Agriculture
Not a Drop to Drink: America’s Water Crisis
Not a Drop to Drink: America’s Water Crisis
Almost a year ago, we had wrote about how we are potentially on the path to global Peak Water. Today’s infographic elaborates more on the problem in the United States on a national basis .
Right now, the average American consumes about 100 gallons of water per day both directly and indirectly. This is a problem of conservation and efficiency as much as it is supply, as the aging water infrastructure had its last upgrade during the Reagan era.
In the next 20 years, it is expected that $1.5 trillion needs to be spent on building new infrastructure alone.
At the same time, only 0.3% of freshwater occurs in lakes and streams. With massive droughts occurring in the West of the United States and rivers such as the Colorado River drying up, clearly initial supply is just as much of a concern in America’s water crisis.
To solve the problem of less reliable freshwater supply, countries such as Israel have been turning to desalination. Recently, the government built a megascale $500 million desalination plant to supply up to 20% of the households with regular water supply.
Investors know that with every great problem, there are opportunities abound in companies that can provide solutions. Previously, Sprott Global had outlined three distinct areas that people looking to invest in water management solutions should consider: adaption to water systems to handle changing weather patterns, improving water safety, and managing storm water in urban areas.
Original graphic by: Last Call at the Oasis
Misc
Visualizing the World’s Flower Bouquet Export Market
This graphic highlights global flower bouquet sales in 2021 and how a few countries dominate the entire flower export market.
Creator Program
Visualizing the World’s Flower Bouquet Export Market
For many, flower bouquets are the go-to gift choice when congratulating a colleague, visiting an ailing relative, or simply showing love and kindness to partners and friends.
And the global popularity of these carefully-arranged and vividly-colored bundles has led to the creation of a billion-dollar flower bouquet market. And demand for beautiful bouquets has kept growing, with global flower bouquet exports in 2021 reaching $11 billion—which is a 30.2% rise since 2017.
Louis Lugas Wicaksono uses data from World’s Top Exports to highlight the spread of this industry. In this image, he shows the flower bouquet exports across different countries in 2021.
Countries Trading the Most Flower Bouquets
Far at the top of the list and best known for their tulips, the Netherlands dominated the flower bouquet export industry in 2021.
| Rank | Country | Continent | Flower Bouquet Exports (2021 USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | Europe | $5.7B |
| 2 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | America | $1.7B |
| 3 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | America | $927.3M |
| 4 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | Africa | $725.5M |
| 5 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | Africa | $254.5M |
| 6 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | Europe | $150.0M |
| 7 | 🇮🇹 Italy | Europe | $140.9M |
| 8 | 🇨🇳 China | Asia | $124.6M |
| 9 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | Asia | $90.5M |
| 10 | 🇨🇦 Canada | America | $82.0M |
| 11 | 🇮🇱 Israel | Asia | $77.5M |
| 12 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | Africa | $70.4M |
| 13 | 🇪🇸 Spain | Europe | $69.6M |
| 14 | 🇩🇪 Germany | Europe | $65.8M |
| 15 | 🇹🇷 Turkey | Asia | $59.4M |
| 🌎 Rest of the world | $735.2M |
The small European nation exported $5.7 billion worth of bouquets in 2021, accounting for over half of global flower bouquet trade. This dominance comes from centuries of being the world’s largest producer of flowers and being a floral trade hub due to its advantageous location and connections with other growers, suppliers, and wholesalers.
Colombia and Ecuador fall next on this list with their exports totaling $1.7 billion and $927 million, respectively. Roses, carnations, and chrysanthemums are heavily exported from these South American nations.
On the other side of the Atlantic, cut rose flower exports were the leading drivers for Kenya and Ethiopia, earning these African nations $725 million and $254 million respectively.
Together, these five nations contributed to 85% of the world’s flower bouquet trade in 2021.
Post-Pandemic Strategies
Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the flower bouquet export industry remained resilient. However, this was not an easy feat.
Many florists embraced new strategies like online sales and free home deliveries, and exporters dealt with global shipping slowdowns. Some countries including Columbia and Kenya focused on producing flowers with longer shelf lives that could be shipped further away.
As we continue to drift away from the pandemic and global trade eases up, we can expect this industry to blossom further.
-
Demographics2 weeks agoMapped: The World’s Happiest Countries in 2023
-
United States3 weeks agoMapped: The Largest 15 U.S. Cities by GDP
-
Economy1 week agoVisualizing the Link Between Unemployment and Recessions
-
Misc3 weeks agoVintage Viz: China’s Export Economy in the Early 20th Century
-
Investor Education1 week agoVisualizing 90 Years of Stock and Bond Portfolio Performance
-
Technology3 weeks agoTimeline: The Shocking Collapse of Silicon Valley Bank
-
Markets1 week agoWhich Countries Hold the Most U.S. Debt?
-
Datastream3 weeks agoMapped: Legal Sports Betting Totals by State