The summer holidays are typically a quiet period for flower sales, but this summer seems even quieter than previous years, players in the flower trade note.
Hans Visser Flowers
Richard de Boer of Hans Visser Flowers agrees. "The past few weeks have been very quiet, and the next two weeks will likely remain the same, as many flower shops are closing for the holidays. To maintain sales, we find that working closely with growers is crucial. There is less supply at the auctions, and more direct sales are taking place. The current supply is also lower compared to last year; the quantities are small, and they fluctuate greatly from day to day. This is mainly due to the recent weather, as spring was very wet, followed by several weeks of intense sun and heat. The situation in Israel also adds uncertainty, as many flowers are sourced from there. We expect the trade to remain quiet for a while, but it should pick up again around mid-August. We don't have many weddings at the moment, but that will also start to increase soon."
Joost Petri, Starline Flowers
According to Joost Petri of Starline Flowers, trade is pretty much at a standstill these weeks: Honestly, it has never been this bad. In the last few weeks, we've had the European Championships, the Tour de France, and now the Olympics. On top of that, the weather has been very hot, and the summer holidays have started. All of this has led to very few sales.
Additionally, prices aren't soaring, even though Dutch flowers were still quite expensive in July. We focus on Italy and Colombia, and that will continue. However, Italy is at a standstill because nothing really grows there due to the heat. When it's 28 degrees here, it's 48 degrees there. It's part of the summer season, but it's still difficult. In the morning, we have about two hours of work, but after that we hope for the best. As a middleman, you often notice that during already quiet periods, it gets even quieter for us. I expect things to pick up again in September. Last year, it started in the third week of August, but I'm more pessimistic this year."
For more information:
Hans Visser Flowers
Richard de Boer
[email protected]
www.hvisserbloemen.nl
Starline Flowers
Joost Petri
[email protected]
www.starlineflowers.com