The Ecuadorean Rose Industry It is 6:20 a.m. February 7 in the Ecuadorean town of world. Rose farms generate $240 million in sales and sup- Cayambe, and Maria Pacheco has just been dropped off port tens of thousands of jobs. In Cayambe, the population for work by the company bus. She pulls on thick rubber has increased in 10 years from 10,000 to 70,000, primarily gloves, wraps an apron over her white, traditional em- as a result of the rose industry. The revenues and taxes broidered dress, and grabs her clippers, ready for another from rose growers have helped to pave roads, build long day. Any other time of year, Maria would work un- schools, and construct sophisticated irrigation systems. til 2 p.m., but it's a week before Valentine's Day, and Maria works Monday to Saturday, and earns $210 a Maria along with her 84 coworkers at the farm are likely month, which she says is an average wage in Ecuador to be busy until 5 p.m. By then, Maria will have cut and substantially above the country's $120 a month more than 1,000 rose stems. minimum wage. The farm also provides her with health A few days later, after they have been refrigerated and care and a pension. By employing women such as Maria, shipped via aircraft, the roses Maria cut will be selling the industry has fostered a social revolution in which for premium prices in stores from New York to London. mothers and wives have more control over their family's Ecuadorean roses are quickly becoming the Rolls-Royce spending, especially on schooling for their children. of roses. They have huge heads and unusually vibrant For all of the benefits that roses have bought to Ecua- colors, including 10 different reds, from bleeding heart dor, where the gross national income per capita is only crimson to a rosy lover's blush. $1,080 a year, the industry has come under fire from envi- Most of Ecuador's 460 or so rose farms are located in ronmentalists. Large growers have been accused of misus- the Cayambe and Cotopaxi regions, 10,000 feet up in the ing a toxic mixture of pesticides, fungicides, and fumigants Andes about an hour's drive from the capital, Quito. The to grow and export unblemished pest-free flowers. Reports rose bushes are planted in huge flat fields at the foot of claim that workers often fumigate roses in street clothes snowcapped volcanoes that rise to more than 20,000 feet. without protective equipment. Some doctors and scien- The bushes are protected by 20-foot-high canopies of tists claim that many of the industry's 50,000 employees plastic sheeting. The combination of intense sunlight, have serious health problems as a result of exposure to fertile volcanic soil, an equatorial location, and high alti- toxic chemicals. A study by the International Labor Or- tude makes for ideal growing conditions, allowing roses to ganization claimed that women in the industry had more flower almost year-round. Ecuador apparently has a com- miscarriages than average and that some 60 percent of all parative advantage in the production of roses. workers suffered from headaches, nausea, blurred vision, Ecuador's rose industry started some 20 years ago and fatigue. Still, the critics acknowledge that their stud- and has been expanding rapidly since. Ecuador is now ies have been hindered by a lack of access to the farms, the world's fourth-largest producer of roses. Roses are and they do not know what the true situation is. The In- the nation's fifth-largest export, with customers all over the ternational Labor Organization has also claimed that318 Part 3 Cases some rose growers in Ecuador use child labor, a claim that the importation of Ecuadorean roses, and how do has been strenuously rejected by both the growers and they benefit? Who loses? Do you think the benefits Ecuadorean government agencies. outweigh the costs? In Europe, consumer groups have urged the European 3. How does the rose export industry benefit Ecuador? Union to press for improved environmental safeguards. Do these benefits have any implications for the In response, some Ecuadorean growers have joined a United States and Europe? voluntary program aimed at helping customers identify responsible growers. The certification signifies that the 4. How should developed nations respond to reports of poor working conditions in this industry? Should grower has distributed protective gear, trained workers in using chemicals, and hired doctors to visit workers at importers in some way certify Ecuadorean producers, only importing from those who adhere to strict labor least weekly. Other environmental groups have pushed and environmental standards? for stronger sanctions, including trade sanctions, against Ecuadorean rose growers that are not environmentally certified by a reputable agency. On February 14, how- Sources ever, most consumers are oblivious to these issues; they simply want to show their appreciation to their wives 1. G. Thompson, "Behind Roses' Beauty, Poor and Ill and girlfriends with a perfect bunch of roses.' Workers," The New York Times, February 13, 2003, pp. Al, A27; J. Stuart, "You've Come a Long Way Baby," The Independent, February 14, 2003, p. 1; Case Discussion Questions V. Marino, "By Any Other Name, It's Usually a Rosa," The New York Times, May 11, 2003, p. A9; A. DePalma, 1. What is the basis of Ecuador's comparative advan- "In Trade Issue, the Pressure Is on Flowers," The New tage in the production of roses? York Times, January 24, 2002, p. 1; and "The Search for 2. Most Ecuadorean roses are sold in the United States Roses Without Thorns," The Economist, February 18, or Europe. Who in these countries benefits from 2006, p. 38