Lessons; economy

Production and trade in flowers and plants

This page contains following subjects:

• Holland land of flowers
• From grower to consumer
• Production area
• Import
• Flower auctions
• The clock
• Trade channels and wholesalers
• Possibilities of trade and retail

Holland land of flowers

Holland is since a long time a land of flowers. The climate makes it easy to grow flowers outside during half a year. Most flowers are grown inside glasshouses. The Westland area is together with Aalsmeer the center of the World flower trade.

The flower auctions play an important role in the distribution. Flowers and plants come here together and the florist or wholesaler can buy the flowers in front of the clock, or even by computer or Internet. A very large assortment flowers with a high quality find their way to the world-wide consumer. Totally more than12.000 different flowers and plants are for sale during the year. Special breeders grow new varieties and bring many new varieties every year. Growers are specialized in one or a few plant varieties. Because of this specialism the quality is maximal. The growers change knowledge and experience. They believe in co-operation. A constant innovation of the Dutch agriculture and the trade system ensure the leading position of Holland as biggest exporter of flowers and plants. The biggest auctions are: Flower auction FloraHolland in Naaldwijk (and locations elsewhere in Holland) and VBA-Aalsmeer. The flower trade becomes more and more international. Flower art always has, an advantage by the richness of flowers and plants. Important also is the enormous variety on equipment, containers and accessories. Just because all of this the standard of flower art in Holland is high.

From grower till consumer

Since about 1950 in Holland more and more flowers were grown. From the moment many vegetable growers also started to grow flowers, the position of Holland as land of flowers increased quickly. Those days many flowers are imported. Because the production and import is much larger than the use of flowers in Holland itself, most are exported. Holland became the center for trade in flowers and plants. The reason Holland’s position is strong is because:

1 There is a good and functional trade system.
2 The assortment has a wide variety during the year.
3 The quality of flowers and plants is good.
4 There is a lot of knowledge about growing and trading the products.

Production area 

Production area in Holland

Flowers and potted plants are grown in different areas. Some area are very close to a flower auction, but growers bring their products from any corner in the country to the large auctions.

The most important grower area:

Smaller areas are:

Production in other countries
In many countries there are special area for growing flowers and plants. A few examples:

Import

It is not easy to tell where all the import flowers come from. Totally Holland imports from more than 50 countries. The flower auction has specific information about this. Import is very important to complete the wide variety flowers and plants during the year.

Flower auctions (this part wil be upgraded later this year)

There are seven flower auctions in the Netherlands. Also there is a special import auction.

For contact with the websites of the auctions click here.

The clock

The flowers and plants will be harvested by the growers and after it prepared for the auction. Often the grower brings the products to the auction himself, but there are also specialized companies to do this. A special form with all the information is needed for auctioning companions the products, like variety, number, quality and a barcode. The products are arranged in rows in a special climate. The quality control masters check if the quality is good. His notes are written on the form. When the grower takes the quality control by himself, there will be a general check on the auction.

After the quality control the products goes to the clock to be sold on the highest bidder. The information appears on the clock. The buyer can stop the clock on the price he wants to pay and can tell how much he want to have. The highest bidder is buyer because the system is called Dutch auction. The clock goes from high till low. The price is announced on the clock. After the buy the buyer delivers the products. Only if the quality is not as told, the buyer can complain. The products have to be paid directly.

TRADE SYSTEMS AND WHOLE SALE

Flowers and plants goes their way from the grower by the trade channel to the consumer. Let we see what kind of players there are and what they do?

Breeder
They grow new varieties of flowers and plants. Mostly they are specialized in a few plant varieties.

Grower
They grow the flowers and plants to bring their products to the auction.

Trade grower
This type of grower usually has a wide variety of potted plants. They deliver directly to the retailers.

Grower-florist
Only a  few growers are in the same time also retailer and sell their own product to the consumer.

Whole sale
This are all companies who trade in flowers and plants and deliver only to the retailer. There are some differences to see:

Exporter
A company who sells the flowers and plants in several countries.

Wholesaler
This is a company who has a large assortment of flowers and or plants. He sells them direct to the retailer. The florist can buy in front of his door.

Commissioner
A company who buys flowers only after they are ordered. They receive a small percentage for their work.

Cash and Carry
In Holland and also in other countries there are special markets for the retailer. They can buy here all kind of flowers, plants and assessors for the shop. This companies usually only sell after direct payment. Some examples in Holland:

• Cultra, Aalsmeer
• Pyramide, Naaldwijk
• Fleuregio, Hengelo

Internet and E-commerce
A new kind of trade between growers and wholesalers  is by computer. 

Possibilities of trade and retail

Retailers deliver the products to the consumer. There are many kinds of retail, each with their specific customers, shop system and assortment. We all know the flower shop, but there are also retailers on the market, on the street corners, wholesalers, garden-centers and so on.

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Last update of this page 23.05.2004