In the first half of 2020, the turnover at FloraHolland, due to the coronacrisis was 2.3 billion euros, 10% lower compared to the first six months of 2019. The average price of flowers was 2.8% lower, houseplants 3.6% higher and that of garden plants 16.8% higher. The volume decreased by 11.7%. Over the last weeks of the first half of the year, there was a strong recovery. High prices resulted in good turnovers, while there was still a lack of supply.
David van Mechelen, CFO Royal FloraHolland: "For the industry, the first half of 2020 has been tough. Losses for the growers were large, even though the financial safety net, a lot of growers still had to deal with a turnover lost of 30 percent. There has been a shift towards direct sales which in turn is financially affecting FloraHolland. We're having to deal with a financial challenge. At the same time, it shows that our chosen strategy is the right one. We therefore try to accelerate the implementation where possible and we have full faith in that it will succeed."
David van Mechelen, CFO Royal FloraHolland
Cut flowers
The turnover of cut flowers decreased by 14% in the first half of the year. The number of stems decreased by 12% and the price by 4 percent. This result is driven by the peak of the coronacrisis. In the period of week 12-25, the turnover of cut flowers decreased by 24% of which 20% in number of stems and 5% in lower prices.
The supply of cut flowers declined by 12%. Reason for this decrease is the limited supply out of Kenya and Israel and the supply regulations in the first weeks of the crisis. Growers have also sometimes suspended production. The decrease in supply out of Kenya and Israel impacted the clockshare in the trade. The production out of these countries are mainly sold via the auction clock.
Rose remains the most popular flower with a turnover of 327 million in the first 6 months. The tulips takes the second spot with over 197 million euro turnover. The total amount of sold cut flowers at Royal FloraHolland was 5.2 billion, a decrease of 12 percent compared to the first 6 months of 2019.
Houseplants
The turnover at houseplants decreased by 7.1%, the price compensated this decrease with over 10%. In the period of week 12-25, the turnover declined by 14%, the amount of plants was 18% lower and the price was 5 percent higher, compared to last year. Within the group of houseplants, the Phalaenopsis takes first place in turnover as well as number of items. The turnover decreased during the first half of the year by 10%, during the peak of the coronacrisis, the decrease was even 20%. Anthurium is in the turnover top 5 with a increase of 1.8 percent, despite the coronacrisis. 80% of all houseplants are being sold by direct transactions and the remaining 20% via the auction clock.
Garden plants
The graden plants season has been well, despite the coronacrisis. In the first half of the year, the turnover increased by 8.8%. The supply decreased by nearly 7%, however, the good pricing (+16.8%) compensated the loss very well. In total, over 206 million garden plants were sold. The turnover of Lavender is on top, with nearly 20 million euro, which is more than 20% higher than last year.
Source: Royal FloraHolland