Netherlands: Cautious start amaryllis season

The extensive promotional campaigns of the past few years seem to be taking effect. The amaryllis seems to be gaining popularity and is being offered to consumers through an increasing number of retail and wholesale channels. Says Will Zuiderwijk, product coordinator Amaryllis & Calla at FloraHolland. "Retail is now joining up where the promotional focus to date has been on wholesale. Now we need the clock price to go up."

Amaryllis season starts early November. This the consumer also knows and associates the flowers with autumn and Christmas especially. The around 70 cents per stem in recent weeks have been a meager start, says Will. "Compare it with the same time in better years and you'll soon be at about 5 cents higher. However, we have seen a cautious price rise over the last few days. It’s been way too hot for this time of year, making the supply slightly higher than the demand. After harvesting the product has a limited lifespan and therefore should be brought to market immediately. Now that a bit harsher and colder weather is being forecasted, trade is expected to benefit. It is however too early to say anything meaningful about prices: we can begin to take stock only from week two." To achieve a reasonable margin, the price should rise to about 90 cents per stem.

With a few exceptions, the cultivation of amaryllises is seasonal and harvesting peaks between week 40 and week 2. A single grower continues until after Valentine’s day. In the Netherlands there are about 50 amaryllis growers. About 47 of them stick to the season and only a few of them grow year-round. Of these few, two are large, which means that of the total acreage - about 120 hectares - 30 to 40 ha are covered with amaryllis year-round. This acreage has been more or less stable for years. Noteworthy is also that the bulb seems to be an exclusively Dutch product. Competition from other countries is almost non-existent.

Earlier this month, the Meet & Greet Amaryllis took place in the Netherlands. The various FloraHolland Product Committees regularly organize meetings where growers and buyers can meet. Obviously matters are discussed like product innovation, market trends, challenges, etc. "In the Amaryllis you will not find a lot of renovation; every year a handful of new varieties. On the other hand, all colors are represented in all shapes and sizes."

The full range could be admired. Over the next two months, as with the previous and probably also the next season, the majority will consist of the classic Christmas red and white.