FLORICULTURE AND NURSERY CROPS OUTLOOK -- SUMMARY           September 4, 2002

              Approved by the World Agricultural Outlook Board
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This SUMMARY is published by the Economic Research Service, U.S. Department 
of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20036-5831.  The complete text of FLORICULTURE 
AND NURSERY CROPS OUTLOOK (ERS-FLO-1) will be available about 1 week 
following this summary release.
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FLORICULTURE AND NURSERY SALES UP 1 PERCENT TO $14 BILLION

U.S. floriculture and nursery crop sales, based on growers' wholesale 
receipts, are projected at $14 billion in 2002, a 1-percent increase from 
2001. This growth by the industry is in line with a weaker U.S. economy. 
Floriculture and nursery sales correspond largely to growth in key economic 
indicators: new private housing units completed, the number of U.S. 
households, and disposable income.  Trade is an additional factor that 
determines domestic production.  Increased imports of cut flowers influence 
domestic cut flower production and sales, while imports of other floriculture 
and nursery crops do not have a comparable impact on domestic growers.

The $14 billion in floriculture and nursery sales in 2002 are the sum of $9.2 
billion in nursery crop sales and $4.8 billion in floriculture crop sales.  
Total floriculture and nursery sales are up from $9.3 billion in 1992, a 50-
percent jump in a decade.  Over the same period, nursery crop sales increased 
46 percent while floriculture crops rose 58 percent.  These 2002 estimates 
correspond to $129 per U.S. household in floriculture and nursery sales, $85 
in nursery sales, and $44 in floriculture sales.

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