The Netherlands is famous worldwide not only for its beautiful tulips but as a leader in the floriculture business. In order to learn more, the Embassy staff went on a study trip to FloraHolland’s headquarters in Aalsmeer.
FloraHolland is a cooperative established over a hundred years ago and plays a key role in The Netherland's floriculture business. Just to have an idea of the scale of services that FloraHolland provides as an auction business - 8,000 Dutch and foreign growers deliver their flowers and plants; 2,500 professional customers do their purchasing and a staff of well over 4,000 come to work – on a daily basis. The auction has a turnover of 4.1 billion euros and sells more than 12 billion flowers and plants a year.
The flowers and plants are exported to approximately 140 countries, with the most important markets in Britain, France and Germany. However, the strongest growth markets for Dutch flower exporters are the Central and Eastern European states and Russia.
The study trip provided a useful and interesting exposure to flower auctions for the Embassy staff.
Image source - FloraHolland
