Morocco Emerges as Key Rival to France in Growing Edible Flower Market

In Nice, a niche market is booming. The edible flower is growing to the satisfaction of the players involved in this culture. "Our primary business is to serve high-end catering, whose chefs are always ahead of trends. By talking to them, by seeing the magazines, we realized that there is a demand around the flower," says Mireille Auda, 58, a farmer in the region, to Challenges. The marketing of her flower crates represents 10% of her turnover.

However, the edible flower alone cannot save the horticultural sector. "It remains a niche, not a market! We did it to rejuvenate our image, but for years we lost money, explains Aurélie Tourlourat, technician at the Mediterranean Agricultural Research and Experimentation Center (CREAM) of the Chamber of Agriculture of the Alpes-Maritimes. The big competitors are Morocco and Israel".