Yesterday already, a large portion of roses came from Ethiopia and today the supply out of this country is about back to a normal level, says Guido Vollebregt, Product Manager for roses at Royal FloraHolland. They are also expecting more roses from Kenya this week.
Ethiopia
The situation in Ethiopia seems to have calmed down somewhat. "Because of the fierce protests and roadblocks it was not possible to bring flowers to the airport and the workers could not go to the farms. Since Friday the situation has calmed down a bit and the activities on the farm could be resumed".
Kenya
Also from Kenya there was not so much product in the past week. "Last week's supply was 60% compared to what the grower could send if they were 100% in production." According to Vollebregt, the cause of the low supply is a combination of a number of factors. "Production was lower due to bad weather, transport costs are still high - not as high as they have been, but still high - and the capacity in the aircraft is not yet as it was before, before the COVID-19 crisis.
For this week the numbers are a bit higher again. "This is mainly because they have more product and can transport it."
Coming weeks
It is the time of the summer holidays and traditionally the demand for roses and flowers in general is low. But what will it be like this year? "Because of the COVID-19 situation, more people stay at home and we therefore expect and hope that this will have a positive influence on the demand for flowers. But that will all become apparent in the coming weeks."
Impact corona
Looking back on the past weeks, Vollebregt notes that the impact of COVID-19 on the rose growers, especially the Dutch and Ethiopian rose growers, is less fierce than initially thought. "Due to the lower supply from Kenya, prices were higher on the clock and this has turned out well for the Dutch and Ethiopian growers. In contrast to the Kenyan growers, the Ethiopian growers did not suffer from transport problems".
For more information:
Royal FloraHolland
Guido Vollebregt, Product Manager for the roses at FloraHolland (national and international)
Email: guidovollebregt@royalfloraholland.com
www.royalfloraholland.com