The past few weeks have presented plenty of challenges for the flower trade in Rijnsburg, the Netherlands—between the NATO summit, high temperatures, and the approaching holiday season. Still, it has also brought new opportunities, says Wesley van Klaveren of FlowerGreens. "And business continues no matter what."
"You could definitely notice the impact of the NATO summit here in Rijnsburg. During the summit, transports had to leave very early in the morning, and things were generally quieter in the market—but all in all, it went quite smoothly," he explains. "And a slower pace at the office opened the door for other opportunities, like visiting growers in Portugal." A couple of weeks ago, Wesley and his colleague Gerben traveled there to visit partners connected to FlowerGreens' Kingstar label, which includes products like Proteas, Nutans, and Leucadendrons. "There's not much growing at the moment though—the season really kicks off in September."
© FlowerGreen
The recent heatwave also contributed to a slowdown. "When I got back, temperatures were around 30–35 degrees Celsius, so again, things were quiet. You could feel that at the auction," he continues. "Although prices mostly depend on how much is being put on the clock. We decided to push through last week so that we'd have enough stock available for this week—and that worked out well. We saw that temperatures would drop and took a bit of a gamble, which paid off. It's been a good, busy week."
Wesley also notes an early influx of "Dutch goods" on the clock due to the warm weather—something that's become a familiar trend. "Our products tend to arrive a bit later. However, we've been busy with various Eucalyptus varieties from South Africa, which is really what the market is looking for in terms of quality. The Cinerea from Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France tends to have a lot of young leaves, whereas the South African product is much sturdier. Starting next week, we expect a slight decline in supply from South Africa as the Southern European countries return to the market—thanks to improving quality there."
By late August, FlowerGreens expects more diversity from countries like South Africa, including products such as Ozothamnus. "We're really looking forward to seeing those arrive in larger volumes."
For now, FlowerGreens wishes everyone heading out on holiday a wonderful break.
For more information:
Wesley van Klaveren
FlowerGreens
Tel: +31 (0)6 12563 661
[email protected]
www.flowergreens.com
