"Cooling is crucial"

The requirements from consumers, as well as from traders, are to such an extend that the importance of cooling in the chrysanthemums chain needs to be underlined. This was stated by Gitta ten Hoope of FloraHolland during the annual study day of the Netherlands Association Technique in Agriculture (NVTL).

Over the last few years, the Dutch Chrysanthemums sector, in cooperation with FloraHolland, has been aiming to increase the quality in the chrysanthemum chain. "Around 2010, 2011, we often received complaints from Russia, especially regarding the poor quality of the leaves and Botrytis in them," says Ten Hoope. "And then, the entire cargo was rejected." In order to change this, they started to investigate the process of cooling within the chain. And to be honest, it was not that good. After harvesting, the flowers were hardly cooled. In the summer season, most of the chrysanthemums were supplied with a temperature above 20 degrees Celcius and in the winter months, the temperature was also too high: 15-19.19 degrees Celcius. And this is not it. In order to keep the customs costs as low as possible, the flowers were packed densely: as an example from 31 auction boxes to 6 Russia boxes, or in other words: 350 stems in a box. Efficient, but not without any consequences. "The temperature in the boxes in uncooled cargo can rise up to 40 to 45 degrees Celsius," explains Ten Hoope. "And the temperature of the products in cooled cargo also rises in the boxes."

Temperature
The fact that these temperatures were affecting the quality of the flowers was obvious for the majority of the parties involved, but the heavy consequences became clear when they introduced a measurement that indicates the effect of temperature on the shelf life of the flower. "The rule of thumb is: max 10 degrees Celcius and less than ten shipping days," continues Ten Hoope. "And this limit surprises growers and more awareness is needed." The importance of cooling is twofold: the product needs to be produced cold and needs to be kept cold afterwards.

Requirements from the sector
According to Ten Hoope, cooling in the chrysanthemum chain is a subject that needs to be kept underlined, even after three years. This also has to do with the requirements from the market: these requirements differ a lot, but are becoming stricter in general. "The English retail has strict requirements regarding the shipping conditions and time limits," she says. "Everything is being specified and the entire chain is transparent. Now, other markets like Russia are also adjusting their requirements. Despite the amount of stems per box increasing - up to 480 in a double AA-box - the demand for cold flowers also increases as the target group has a better sense of quality." In the Netherlands, these developments are also underway. Large retailers are working on the specifications regarding the quality of the flowers and the chain. "The temperatures in the chain play an increasingly important role."