Flower auction FloraHolland in Holland (14 photos).
How are flowers sold at auctions? - This question is one of the most interesting in the flower business. Let's get to know it better using the example of the FloraHolland company.
Dutch company FloraHolland is the largest flower auction in the world. The form of its organization is a cooperative business; the company is the property of its members.
FloraHolland was formed as a result of a series of successive mergers of Dutch flower exchanges. The latest, on January 1, 2008, was joined by the largest Dutch Flower auction in Aalsmeer (Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer). Currently, FloraHolland controls over 90% of the Dutch cut flower market. The company conducts its business both in Holland and abroad. The company's annual turnover is over 4 billion euros. In 2015, the company's turnover was €4.5 billion.
In 2016, the company rebranded and now officially bears the name Royal FloraHolland.
Royal FloraHolland has 6 auction centers. In the cities of Aalsmeer ( Aalsmeer), Naaldwijk ( Naaldwijk) and Rijnsburg ( Rijnsburg) export flower auctions are located, and in the cities of Blaiswijk ( Bleiswijk), Venlo ( Venlo) and Elde ( Eelde) there are regional flower auctions. Bidding at FloraHolland auctions is held 5 days a week. The company has 13 auction rooms, 42 auction hours, 270 thousand auction trolleys, 200 million units of containers (containers, packages, baskets, boxes, etc.) for flowers.
Every day, 120 thousand transactions are made at Royal FloraHolland flower auctions. The auction features 20 thousand different flowers and plants. FloraHolland sells 12 billion flowers and plants a year. The company carries out 60% of the world's exports of flowers and plants.
Royal FloraHolland imports flowers from 60 countries. The main importers of flowers for FloraHolland auctions are Holland, Kenya, Israel, Ecuador, Zambia and Germany.
More than 80% of flowers sold at auctions are exported. Royal FloraHolland exports flowers to 140 countries. The most important flower export destinations for FloraHolland are Germany, Great Britain, France, Belgium, Italy and of course Russia. Flowers from this auction go even to countries as far from Holland as Japan, Australia, and Singapore.
Royal FloraHolland has 5 thousand 200 members, 9 thousand suppliers from all over the world, 3.5 thousand clients. The company employs 4.5 thousand people. In addition, directly or indirectly, the Dutch flower business provides employment to over 250 thousand people around the world.
All Royal FloraHolland premises cover an area of 2,600,000 m2, which is about 400 football fields.
Royal FloraHolland's headquarters are located in Aalsmeer. The world's largest flower auction, Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer, is located here. The one-story auction building has a huge area of 990 thousand square meters. meters. This is one of the largest buildings in the world. The auction building ranks 4th on the list of the largest buildings in the world by area, ahead of Beijing International Airport and the Pentagon building in Washington.
Around 20 million cut flowers are sold every day at the Aalsmeer flower auction. On special days, such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, sales increase by 10%.
Interior Flower auction in Aalsmeer. Refrigerators in which flowers are stored.
Dozens of containers of cut flowers are constantly moved in a circle to reach the auction rooms.
Historically, wholesale flower buyers must attend auctions in person to complete transactions. Traders can buy flowers either in the morning during the auction at prices that are determined during the auction, or in the following hours at fixed prices from direct sales agencies.
Dutch flower auctions are organized on the principle of lower prices. Bidding starts with the maximum price, the price gradually decreases. During price reductions, wholesale flower buyers must press a special button on their desk. Whoever pressed the button first gets this batch of flowers at the price he chose.
Classic example how the auction works at the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Traders sit in a large hall located in an amphitheater at tables equipped with special buttons. In front of them, batches of flowers (lots) move along the conveyor belt. On the wall there is a large auction clock, along which the hand moves from the maximum price to the minimum. Those wishing to purchase this lot must press the button as the arrow moves. The decision must be made quickly in a few seconds. The task is not easy. You should not buy at an inflated price, and you need to anticipate what price competitors may offer.
The purchase is made immediately, via a computer, within 10-15 minutes. Traders receive their flowers within an hour. According to the internal transport system of the auction, flowers arrive at warehouses. At the request of buyers, bouquets can be made from them here. Then the purchased flowers are immediately delivered to refrigerators at their destination - stores or the airport.
This is what an auction watch looked like in the FloraHolland auction room in Blaiswijk a few years ago.
Modern photos auction room, see below.
Royal FloraHolland is an innovative company. She actively introduces Internet technologies into her business. Since 1997, traders have been able to buy flowers at FloraHolland auctions via the Internet. For this purpose, FloraHolland installed the i-KOA system (internet Kopen Op Stand) or simply KOA. Now traders do not have to be personally present in the auction halls; they can participate in auctions remotely by connecting to auction hours through the KOA system. As of the beginning of 2010, FloraHolland had installed 1,600 remote connections via the KOA system, most of which - 1,200 are located in Holland, and 400 - outside of it. Thus, traders around the world can buy flowers at Dutch auctions remotely.
Currently, around 45% of the flowers sold daily at FloraHolland's largest export auctions in Aalsmeer, Neidwilke and Rijnsburg are sold remotely. In the future, the percentage of sales via the Internet will only increase.
How does the remote bidding system work?
Several windows with auction watches open on your monitor screen. You choose one main window where you place your bets online. At the same time, up to 4 additional windows with auction hours can be turned on, by which you can monitor flower lots. Additional windows display the product name, manufacturer and lot price.
If you are a member of Royal FloraHolland and run your business at flower auctions (sell or buy flowers), then you can watch the auction remotely, from anywhere in the world, online from your computer. The cost of the service is 15 euros per month.
Royal FloraHolland conducts its business openly. Every day during flower auctions there are excursions; spectators watch the auctions and the movement of carts with flowers in storage from a special gallery. A ticket for a tour in Aalsmeer costs €7.00 for adults and €4.00 for children. Multi-month passes are also sold. Spectators are also invited to take excursions to the flower auction in Elda.
Let's take a look at the Royal FloraHolland company. Watch a short photo and video tour of the places where flower auctions take place.
Flower auction in Aalsmeer (Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer)
Flower auction in Blaiswijk (Bleiswijk)
Flower auction in Naldwijk (Naaldwijk)
Flower auction in Rijnsburg (Rijnsburg)
Flower auction in Elda (Eelde)
Photo from www.royalfloraholland.com.
This short educational video shows the path that flowers take (for example Dutch tulips and Kenyan roses) from the place of cultivation to the buyer. You can clearly see how bidding takes place at a flower auction. See how flowers are prepared for the auction, how their quality is checked with special devices.
Video prepared MyFloraHolland.
In this article you got acquainted with the main supplier of flowers in the markets of Europe and Russia.
When you buy flowers, you can assume that with a probability of more than 80% they went through Royal FloraHolland auctions.
What about the remaining 20%?
10% of our market is flowers domestic production.
The remaining 10% includes all other flower supply options.
Flowers and the Netherlands are inextricably linked. Flowers add color to a typical Dutch landscape. Above all, in the province of North Holland, fields of flower bulbs, long thin ditches and green stripes of grass create a colorful palette. Not only are flowers still one of the most important exported products in the Netherlands. Every year flowers attract numerous tourists from all over the world.
National flower
The Dutch consider the tulip to be their national flower, although not officially. The head of the Leiden Botanical Garden, Carl Clusius, first planted a tulip bulb in the sixteenth century. This flower comes from Turkey or Iran, where the sultans loved it very much. In the seventeenth century, tulip mania spread to the Netherlands. The tulip trade was then experiencing its golden age.
Import and export of flowers
According to the Netherlands Flower Bureau, a total of €893 million is spent on cut flowers in the Netherlands. indoor plants– 530 million. Since a long time consumer market is the most important market for these products, and about three-quarters of the costs come from the Dutch consumer. The cultivation and export of Dutch flower bulbs is growing rapidly. Although exports are currently (2009) falling (according to the horticultural association), flowers are still one of the most important export products in the Netherlands.
2009. We are currently seeing a decline in exports. According to information from the horticultural association, exports to EU countries in the first half of this season decreased by 8% compared to the same period last year. Exports to the United States fell by 12% and to Japan by 22%. Only exports to Russia continue to grow.
Bollenstreck - flower bulb district
The coastal area between Haarlem and Leiden has long been called Bollenstreck - the flower bulb region, because the flower bulb culture originates from here, thanks to the mild climate and calcium-rich soil.
Tourist places
Palace Gardens of Loo Palace (Paleis het Loo)
Keukenhof: open-air flower exhibition with a theme that changes every year
The most beautiful cities in the region
The Dutch province of North Holland is famous not only for its beautiful tulip fields and long beaches, but also for its wonderful historical cities, such as Haarlem. In Haarlem you will find all the unique features of the Netherlands: canals and drawbridges, a cathedral and an ancient town hall. Advice: best way to explore Haarlem and admire the tulip fields - take a bike. This way you can find yourself right in the middle of flower plantations! Located south of the flower region, Leiden, famous for its university, is also a city of cyclists.
Do you want to enjoy the wonderful fields of Holland, strewn with bulbous flowers, this year? Book a hotel room near Keukenhof and fully enjoy the beauty of this flowery region.
The Dutch have been growing flowers since ancient times. First on this list is a tulip. All possible colors of this wonderful flower are planted in the fields of Holland, to this day. The Dutch are proud of their craft; they carefully cherish every seed, which later becomes beautiful flower. The Dutch even hold annual celebrations to celebrate the beauty provided by nature. The Netherlands is second to none in exporting its plants around the world.
Most often, when coming to a store or placing an order online, many people purchase first-class Dutch varieties. That's what happened to me. I decided to find flowers wholesale in Moscow and accidentally came across the store’s website jaaz-flowers.com - fantastic selection, quality, and prices!
The end of April is marked by the celebration of “Flower Day”. Orange, hung throughout, symbolizes health, holiness and the sun, which is the source of energy for all plants. Main feature The holiday is a grand parade. Absolutely all cars are decorated with beautiful compositions of various flowers.
The city of Alsemere is famous for its grandiose flower exchange. Starting early in the morning, buyers from all over the world gather, bidding on the displayed plants moving between the rows. The four-hour auction ends with the sale of more than 12 million roses; hundreds of millions of varietal flowers are taken away from the exchange throughout the year. Flowers are delivered throughout European countries in specially equipped refrigerated vehicles, and air delivery of cargo to the most remote corners is organized by plane.
A huge variety of tulips, natives of Central Asia, annually captivate millions of people all over the planet with their magnificence. The history of Dutch tulips begins in the mid-17th century, it was then that the first varieties fell into the hands of nobles, from that moment the flower became a national symbol. Bulbs cultivated plants sold for incredible amounts of money. The boom of those times smoothly grew into an entire industry, which has now become a leading industry nationwide.
Benefits of Dutch flowers
Having dealt with historical facts, now it’s worth moving on to the advantages of purchasing foreign, namely Dutch flowers, both indoor and cut. Basic positive characteristic of such plants is their service life. Cut flowers are grown and selected in such a way that they can withstand various climatic changes. Therefore, grown in one country, they can easily be transported to any other. The only requirement is proper care. After all, very often people are faced with the rapid withering of Dutch plants and thereby lose confidence in them, although the whole point is the negligence of entrepreneurs who skimp on personal care.
The next advantage is variety. color range plants. Indeed, on the market you can find the most bizarre shapes and colors that are pleasing to the eye. Naturally, everyone will want an original composition with bright varieties.
In addition, many flowers are grown in such a way that they are easy for florists to process. Most often, the stems of such plants are freed from possible thorns, but are rewarded with leaves and beautiful lush buds, which, even after numerous checks and treatments, remain just as charming.
The undisputed leader in popularity among the huge number of plants grown in Holland is the tulip. This flower is presented here in so many varieties that cannot be found anywhere else. Dutch flower growers have developed a lot of varieties of these magnificent flowers, and today the country's breeders continue to work in this direction.
Tulip along with windmill has long become a symbol of Holland; in general, floriculture is the main activity of the country, and one fifth of the entire territory of Holland is covered with tulips! Roses, lilies, lilies of the valley, violets, lilacs, orchids, azaleas, chrysanthemums and begonias, as well as many other types of plants, are also grown here. For many years, Holland has rightfully been considered the most flowery country in the world.
It is no secret that when ordering flowers for delivery, in the vast majority of cases you will receive plants grown in Holland, although this does not affect flower delivery rates.
After all, this country exports both the plants themselves and their tubers, seeds, etc. almost all over the world. About a hundred countries around the world use the services of Dutch specialists, purchasing a wide variety of plants here.
In Holland itself, of course, tulips are the leaders in popularity, because it was with the cultivation of this plant that the history of floriculture in this country began. In general, the birthplace of tulips is Türkiye, but tulips gained worldwide fame thanks to the work of Dutch breeders. Initially, only wealthy people grew tulips, but gradually the situation changed and these plants filled the whole country.
By the way, in the 18th century, it was tulips that caused the mass ruin of the country’s inhabitants. The fact is that when the demand for tulips became very high, foreign buyers began to enter into deals with Dutch flower growers not only for real existing tulips, but also on future harvest these flowers. At that moment, when the number of tulips in transactions exceeded the number that could be grown in the country in reality, prices for these plants dropped catastrophically, and many became bankrupt. At the same time, Holland managed to get out of the crisis before today it continues to be the most flowery country in the world and the undisputed leader in tulip cultivation.
It is customary here to give a variety of flower arrangements, because every Dutch person, by definition, loves any buds that can exist in the world. Leading florists from all over the world work in Holland, and therefore there is no shortage of assortment. It is flowers here that most citizens give their time and love, and the country is constantly conquering more and more territories from nature (flooded areas need to be drained) so that there are even more plants.
Residents of the Kingdom of the Netherlands have a reputation as excellent botanists, agronomists and gardeners. Flowers grown in Holland take prizes at the most prestigious flower competitions, and flower growers from all over the world come here to buy tulip bulbs.
The history of creating gardens in Dutch cities goes back a long way.
One of the oldest botanical gardens in Europe is the garden in Leiden. It was founded at the very end of the 16th century. Its curator was the botanist Carl Clusius, who fled to the Netherlands for religious reasons. Thanks to his enthusiasm, the garden acquired a wonderful collection of plants. He made an agreement with the sailors of the East India Company, and they delivered samples exotic plants from all over the world. An oasis inside old Leiden - that's what the city botanical garden is today!
In the first half of the 17th century, the residents of Amsterdam had their own botanical garden. Legend has it that at that time the Dutch were literally devastated by the plague, and doctors tried to fight the epidemic with the help of medicinal herbs. They planted them near the fortress walls and over time the plantings turned into small garden. The modern Amsterdam Botanical Garden boasts thousands of plant species on display for visitors. Of particular interest is the pavilion where recreated climatic zones different zones of our planet. In the capital's botanical garden of Holland, you can find yourself for a couple of minutes in the cold tundra and arid desert, admire the bright paradise flowering of tropical plants and admire hundreds of colorful subtropical butterflies.
Magnificent gardens are also laid out around the most popular castles in Holland - these are the grounds of Baham, Arsen and Het Loo castles.
The Appeltern Gardens in the center of the country on the outskirts of the village of the same name are reminiscent of English classics, and Hortus in the town of Haren - typical example well-kept Chinese garden.
But one of the most attractive flower parks in Holland is the Keukenhof park. It was founded in 1949, near Amsterdam. Over the course of several decades, this place has become the flower destination of Holland. The foundation of the park began back in 1857. In this case, the classical principles of the English park were used. The idea of creating a flower park came from flower producers and exporters in 1949. They decided to create a visual display for the flower trade.
Every year in the spring, for 8 weeks, a variety of flowers of all colors of the rainbow bloom on 32 hectares of land. These are tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, Japanese sakura. Keukenhof Park is an ancient park with centuries-old trees and picturesque ponds; all this splendor is complemented by canals, waterfalls and fountains. Sculptures by Dutch and foreign masters are displayed along many alleys. different eras. The Royal Keukenhof Park is under the patronage of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. She even has her own pavilion where annual flower exhibitions are held. There are also several indoor pavilions with flower displays. In the “Garden of Nature” you can feel complete balance with nature, in the “Musical Garden” you can enjoy music, and in the “Historical Garden” you seem to find yourself back in the Middle Ages. It’s amazing how all these flowers are woven into the ancient park, complementing it, bringing bright, radiant colors and completely transforming it. It also remains amazing to me how all these tulips and hyacinths bloom beautifully under the trees and feel very comfortable. A visit to this park can take a whole day; here it’s as if time stands still and a person tries to enjoy the new, changing landscapes.
There was a moment in the history of Holland when the trade in tulip bulbs captured the inhabitants so much that it turned almost into a mania. Farms and houses were given away for rare varieties of tulips. But after the sharp rush of demand came a crash. Until now, Tulip mania is used as an allegory of reckoning, the collapse of rush demand. In 1637, a law was passed according to which transactions in tulip bulbs were recognized as harmful, and any speculation in them was henceforth strictly punishable by law. Tulips again became what they were originally: decorating gardens and flower beds.
And today the inhabitants of the Netherlands know how not only to grow wonderful delicate flowers, but also to rejoice in their beauty and diversity, to give all this beauty to the residents and guests of this hospitable country. Every year, flower festivals are held throughout the country; people prepare for them, wait for them, and every year they try to surprise the public with new and unexpected ideas, colors and shapes.
One of these festivals Bloemencorso (Blumenkorso) - a grand procession of sculptures and flower arrangements. It passes through several cities from Noordwijk to Haarlem. The parade typically consists of 20 large installations and 30 decorated cars. The parade is accompanied by a costume show, music, songs and dances.
Millions of tulips, roses, hyacinths and other flowers are embodied by Dutch florists and designers into huge sculptures depicting people, animals, fairy-tale and fantasy characters.
This is one of the brightest and most colorful festivals in the world!
Another festival that can be said to be experiencing its heyday is the dahlia festival “Corso Zundert” in the small Dutch town of Zundert. It is held on the first Sunday of September. This city is known as the birthplace of Vincent Van Gogh. Often it becomes the theme for creating floral masterpieces.
Interestingly, everyone can take part in the exciting and creative process of creating flower sculptures. Since there is a lot of work, and preparation begins 2-3 days in advance so that the dahlias do not wilt, the help of volunteers is welcome. After all prerequisite Participation in the festival is to use fresh rather than wilted flowers.
Creating compositions is not very difficult, but it requires patience and perseverance. In advance, designers and florists think through the images and compositions of sculptures, as well as the color scheme. Already three months before the start of the festival, they begin to prepare their platforms. The holiday in this small town is becoming more and more popular, and all thanks to the fact that local residents very carefully prepare for it, showing truly miracles of creativity and imagination. Traditionally, 12 teams take part in it, one platform from each historical district of the city of Zundert. The sculptural compositions of dahlias amaze the imagination; at first it seems unreal that all this is made of flowers.
While making this selection, I simply enjoyed the creativity of Dutch florists; I hope you will find it interesting and pleasant to look at the photographs of floral masterpieces.
Chose the most interesting compositions different years. Photos taken from the Internet.
