Start of 2017 at FloraHolland: lower supply and higher prices

    FloraHolland concluded the first period of 2017 with a drop in revenue of about 3%. The supply was lower than at the start of last year.

    The drop in revenue in period 1 of 2017 was due to a lower supply of products: around 9% less than last year. There are several causes of this:

    -Fewer roses from Africa because of the cold weather

    -The auction was closed for two days at the turn of the year, but for four days the previous year. This meant that four days’ worth of production was sold in the first week of 2016.

    -It was really terrible winter weather in middle and southern Europe, resulting in a lower demand than the year before. Cut flowers showed the biggest drop in supply, especially the roses and tulips.

    Price level rose 6%

    Due to the lower supply, the average price level rose 6%. That compensated for much of the change in revenue. The revenue ended 3% down in period 1 of 2017, with the same number of auction days as in 2016.

    Further increase in direct trade

    Among cut flowers, the share of the direct trade rose by 2.2%-points to 35.9%. The products that were already often being sold via direct trade increased more than the other products.

    Over the entire range, the share of direct trade increased further. Among houseplants, the share rose by 2.7%-points to 78.3%. Clearly, the limit to this growth has not yet been reached. The bulb-in-pot products sold relatively less via direct trade. Among garden plants, the share of direct trade increased by 6.1%. Garden plants are busy catching up and are following the trend of the houseplants.

    Source: FloraHolland