Cold front slows Dutch flower export - but not towards Eastern Europe

After the strong start of the Dutch flower and plant export in January, the cold front of the 'Russian bear' in February reduced the demand in large parts of Europe. As a result, the export value last month stood at 2% below the level of last year. However, export to Russia and other Eastern European countries continued to grow, according to statistics from Floridata. Exporting members of the VGB signaled a rapid recovery of the market, which climbed 2% up to and including February to € 1 billion. Additionally, there is still much uncertainty about the consequences of Brexit.

The decline in February was the same in the flower and plant segment. The cumulative flower value therefore dropped to 1% at € 708 million. Plant exports grew with 6%, with a turnover of € 336 million. The number of trading days this year was the same as in 2017, when a growth of 7% was recorded in February. In February 2016, growth was at 6%. "It was mainly the bad weather in the second half of February, as a result of which the demand for both flowers and plants was lower," said director Eric Kroet of IBH Export. His colleagues Ben Dames from Dames Plants and Sander van Veldhoven from FlowerForce confirmed this sentiment.

Eastern Europe continues to grow
"The effect of the 'Russian bear' does not apply to Eastern European countries," Kroet said referring to the growth of Russia. With a plus of 30% up to and including February, Russia is now the fourth sales destination for flowers and plants from the Netherlands. It should be noted that part of the export turnover for International Women's Day was also processed on March 8. "That day is extremely important for sales", according to van Veldhoven. "The Russian market's perspective is good," he added. "The rate of the ruble is stable, the economy is recovering and the hinterland is also developing as a market."

Other Eastern European markets also show growth, according to Wesley van den Berg from Floridata. "Poland and the Czech Republic are up to 10% up to and including February", he mentioned as examples.

Uncertainty Brexit
Dames said that he receives little information from UK customers about the upcoming Brexit, which takes places a year from now on March 29. "The price of the British pound has been stable for a year now," he says. "It's going to have an impact, but what will it be", van Veldhoven wondered. "Due to lack of clarity we cannot anticipate and what we are doing is speculating." The VGB shares the concerns of the exporters. "Where possible, we insist on clarity more quickly," Mesken indicated. The export to the UK is currently 2% behind last year. At that time, the decrease compared to 2016 was around 12%.