Fleuroselect ramps up fight against illegal plant propagation

VOORHOUT, Netherlands: After a break due to Covid-19 last year, breeders united in Fleuroselect have picked up again their controlling campaign against illegal propagation of pot and bedding plants.

As in previous years, growers were visited at random and checks were carried out to determine if the finished plant production matched the deliveries of cuttings.  Fleuroselect worked in partnership with Royalty Administration International (RAI), a worldwide specialist in plant breeders’ rights, licensing agreements and royalties. Also for 2022, the next round of controls is scheduled.

Croatia and Slovenia

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis, the organisation decided to narrow down the scope of the project and to focus on controlling growers in Croatia and Slovenia this year. In total, 42 nurseries, selected from those who had already been caught on illegal propagation in the previous years, have been controlled again by Royalty Administration International. The visits revealed that in Slovenia, half of the controlled growers were propagating in an illegal way and in Croatia, almost one out of three growers were unable to justify all plants currently in production. The growers with illegal reproduction were fined on top of having to pay the royalties that were not paid.

Awareness

Fleuroselect breeders underline that the main goal of the campaign is to raise awareness within the international industry that illegal reproduction is not tolerated.

Karol Pawlak, President of Fleuroselect: “Fleuroselect breeders invest up to 25 per cent of their profit into breeding in order to bring innovations to the market. New or improved varieties can be produced in a more cost-effective way or can be sold at higher retail prices. They bring a higher margin for the growers and the licence fee is a fair way of contributing to the development cost.”

Confidentiality

There are various ways to report any suspicion on illegal propagation:

• Calling the dedicated tip line phone on 0031 (0)85 0645251
• Sending an email to tips@fleuroselect.com
• Completing the dedicated form on the Fleuroselect website.

All tips are considered highly confidential. Tips are monitored by Royalty Administration International and may be included at random in a future round of controls.

2022

Fleuroselect will continue to make clear to the international industry that illegal propagation is not tolerated. Next year, the organisation plans on taking up the pre-COVID 19 campaign level and the next round of controls is already scheduled.