Latin American nations Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador are three of the major suppliers of flowers in the United States. As a matter of fact, around 500 million cut Colombian flowers was delivered to the U.S. market on Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Since the flower demands are increasing as Valentine's Day looms, a total of 30 flights are scheduled daily to meet with the affluent flower market industry in the United States. According to Latin Correspondent, flowers are shipped in boxes for freshness from Bogota's El Dorado airport and Rionegro, a city close to Medellin.

In addition, up to 300 roses or 600 flowers are shipped per box daily, depending on the variety. These flowers are then sent to Miami, Florida, where more than 150 companies are involved in import of distribution of the delivered flowers. After the flowers are repackaged, they are shipped across the nation.

Due to the flourishing Colombian flower industry, it also helps five Colombian and U.S. cargo airlines devoted to the sector to earn almost $250 million profit annually companies, as reported in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "The History of the Colombian Flower Industry and Its Influence on the United States."

While DHL, one of the largest logistics company in the world, has stopped shipping flowers, Centurion Cargo, which is considered as the most active, along with Avianca Cargo, LAN, UPS and Solar Charge have continued transporting flowers from Colombia to the United States, El Tiempo noted.

As the flower demands continue to rise due to the upcoming Valentine's holiday, Kuehne+Nagel Chief of Operations Ignacio Villegas said that this year's exports have been one of the most successful to date within the flower industry.

"Flights left on time, the cargo capacity met with demand and there were no delays reported in any of the processes such as customs, loading, unloading and other areas," Villegas said.

Despite the increasing demand and promising exports, Colombian producers also faced several issues. In fact, many large-scale producers were affected by increasing temperatures and the nationwide drought.

"Minimum temperatures have come to be 1 degree centigrade and the maximum shadow reached 28 degrees, but have not had frost," Rodriguez told Portafolio. "Companies in the sector are suffering a serious drought crisis."

"Our company does not have trouble because we have access to a deep well, but I understand that, especially in the west of the country, the reservoirs are affected and some days I cannot carry risks," he added. "That affects productivity and the quality of the roses."

Ecuador, on the other hand, also continues to grow its rose market annually. However, the reductions on the sale prices by 60 to 70 percent sparked panic in their flower sector.

In other news, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) are preparing for Valentine's Day to inspect cut flower shipments arriving mostly from South America, Fox 11 reported.

The agriculture specialists are inspecting the flowers to ensure they are pest- and diseases-free. In the U.S., Valentine's Day is the second busiest time for cut flower importations while Mother's Day is the busiest.

Meanwhile, red roses are still the top favorite when it comes to giving of flowers on Valentine's Day. But roses in other shades, chrysanthemums and carnations are also becoming popular.