Ecuador's flower industry shifts toward hemp as rose sales wither

Workers water hemp plants of hemp startup CannAndes, at a farm traditionally used for roses, in Tabacundo, Ecuador July 23, 2021. REUTERS/Johanna Alarcon

TABACUNDO, Ecuador (Reuters) - At one of Ecuador's oldest flower farms, workers are planting hemp on land that traditionally used for roses, making a bet that selling cannabinoid products will help offset the decline in flower sales caused by the pandemic.

Declining sales spurred by the coronavirus outbreak dealt a heavy blow to Ecuador's flower sector, one of the Andean nation's traditional export industries, leaving farms cutting output or seeking to reinvent themselves.