China - June 11, 2024

Storyline:
Asia's top flower market blooms on growing demand

(Voice_over)

It's early in the morning at the Dounan Flower Market in southwest China's Kunming City, and the sprawling eight square kilometer facility is buzzing with activity.

As Asia's largest fresh-cut flower market, Dounan attracts buyers from across the country who bid on varieties and prices from an auction center that resembles a stock exchange.

To facilitate overwhelming demand, officials have added another trading session; welcomed news to buyers.

(Sound_bite)

Flower buyer:

"As the first auction starts too early and customer orders are relatively small, we generally bid on some of the products and store them. We will wait until customers place more orders during the second auction, and then we will replenish our inventory based on their demand."

(Voice_over)

With over 1,600 varieties of flowers and a daily transaction volume of about 40 million stems, the Dounan flower market is the second largest flower market in the world after Aalsmeer in the Netherlands.