Royal FloraHolland: Sales figures after holiday period
The French Mother's Day stimulated sales in the last week of period 5, most of the trade for the French Mother's Day was done in period 6, and sales were about the same as last year. After the French Mother's Day the trade was finished, and the price-setting came under pressure, resulting in lower sales. In the last week of period 6, demand increased slightly, leading to better price-setting and a higher turnover.
Altogether, this resulted in a small drop in sales of 0.4% for period 6, despite there being one extra sales day than period 6 last year. The total supply declined by 4% in terms of the number of items, while the average price was almost 4% above last year's level in period 6. The average price was 38.9 cents, which is high for this time of the year.
In cumulative terms, the Royal FloraHolland turnover rose by 3.2%. After correcting for the number of auction days, we arrive at a slight increase.
Direct trade
The share that was sold via direct trade continues to grow, although the large increases seen in the past few years have disappeared.
Among cut flowers, the direct trade proportion increased by 0.6 percentage-point to 34.5%. In the lead was Gerbera with a share of 63%. Lilies and tulips hovered around 50%, and roses and chrysanthemums were about average. The share of Ranunculus, Calla lilies and Hortensia was about 15%.
Among houseplants, the direct trade proportion increased by 2.1 percentage-point to 76.7%. Phalaenopsis was in the lead with 85%, but showed no growth. The growth was evident in other products, almost all of which showed a small increase of their direct trade sales.
Among garden plants, the direct trade proportion rose by 3.2 percentage-point to 70%. This means the share of the garden plants keeps approaching that of the houseplants. The share of tree nursery products lagged behind somewhat compared to the bedding plants.
Export
The export figures for May are the latest ones available. In May the export grew by 7.4%, with the export of plants increasing by 12% and that of flowers by around 4%. In cumulative terms, the export grew by 3%, 5% for plants and 1.5% for flowers.
Among cut flowers, the greatest increase was seen in France, Belgium, Italy and the US in period 5. The export of flowers to Russia dropped by 33% and to Poland by 21%.
Among plants, export to Poland grew by 50%, and the export to France and the UK also improved strongly. In contrast, Russia and Austria lagged behind. Altogether, the developments outside Russia cannot be ascribed to a particular region.
If we compare the growth of export with the growth of Royal FloraHolland, then we see that in May Royal FloraHolland grew more than the export did, which had not been the case since February.
Cut flowers
Among the cut flowers, sales increased by almost 6%. The supply declined by 3%, while the average price rose 9%. In particular, the supply of roses from Africa lagged behind. Under the influence of El Niño, the production situation is poor, leading to fewer stems being harvested. The supply of gentians and peonies rose strongly in this period. As 10% fewer roses were supplied, the average price increased by 21%. A bit less was paid for peonies and gentians because of the greater supply.
Houseplants
Among houseplants, sales dropped by 8%. There were 6% fewer items sold via Royal FloraHolland, and the average price dropped by 3%. Phalaenopsis followed this course exactly. There were 6% fewer plants sold, and the average price dropped by 8%. Most products experienced difficulty achieving last year's price level. The price-setting of most products remained under last year's level. The houseplants clearly suffered more from the dip after the holidays than the cut flowers.
Garden plants
Among garden plants, sales declined by 4%. The supply dropped by 12%, while the average price rose by 10%. The trend of fewer products continued its course, resulting in a decrease in the total supply. The average pot size is getting bigger, though, and thus the average price level is rising.
Source: Royal FloraHolland