Those numbers represent a 37% increase in total output since the last economic study five years ago. The $21.08 billion in total output sales is comprised of: $4.55 billion for nursery and greenhouse crop production; $10.11 billion for landscape design, installation, and maintenance; and $6.42 billion for retail/garden centers. Allied supplies are reflected in the above numbers, accounting independently for $2.426 billion.
Florida’s nursery and landscape industry created 28,000 jobs between 2010 and 2015 and directly employs a statewide workforce of 232,650 people.
Additional study highlights include:
• Industry sales to markets outside Florida bring nearly $1.6 billion in new net revenue into Florida.
• Florida wages, benefits, and income are an estimated $8.7 billion.
• 31% of Florida landscape sales are to builders and developers, while suppliers sold $170 million in irrigation equipment.
“FNGLA has long exclaimed this is a small business industry with a big business impact on Florida’s economy,” says Ben Bolusky, FNGLA’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the Great Recession in our rear view window, the study’s numbers reflect what FNGLA intrinsically knew — the nursery and landscape industry has cemented its prominence as one of Florida’s economic engines.”
The authors of the University of Florida/IFAS study are Alan W. Hodges, PhD; Hayk Khachatryan, PhD; Mohammad Rahmani, PhD; and Christa D. Court, PhD.
More information on the economic report, including an executive summary, is available on the FNGLA website.