In a new series, Royal Flora Holland is giving the floor to CEO Steven van Schilfgaarde. Once every four weeks, he gives his view on the past period. This time, he talks about safety and the cabinet's plans, among other things.
Market picture
"Flower pricing remained unabated in recent weeks. Volume still lags somewhat compared to last year, but turnover shows big pluses for almost all products. The picture for houseplants is mixed, with an overall picture similar to the same period last year. The clock is still behind on direct. Fortunately, the picture in September is much better than that of August. I hope this continues into the fourth quarter, noting, though, that some product groups are struggling and the trade is having a very hard time earning anything at all. They are getting the increased costs poorly reflected in their margins."
Safety Week
A safe floriculture sector and security at our hubs are of great importance to me. We work well with municipalities, police, customs, and the public prosecutor's office as part of the Resilient Floriculture Sector approach, which is mainly aimed at combating undermining. But safety has many more aspects. As part of the Week of Safety, which started on 7 October, we are asking for extra attention to physical safety on the shop floor, but also, for example, to social safety. Not only among our employees but certainly also among the other users of our hubs. An important call to everyone is to report (either to a manager or anonymously) if they see anything suspicious. Together, including growers and buyers, we have thousands of eyes and ears. I see it as a joint responsibility to keep the sector safe and incorruptible. I am also thinking of labor exploitation, for example. Not just this week, but all days of the year. There is an interesting podcast series as part of the Resilient Ornamental Horticulture Sector approach.""
Cabinet policy
"I am pleased that in the Budget Day documents, the greenhouse horticulture sector is praised for its 'high-tech production' which is of great importance to the Dutch economy. I am convinced that through commitment to knowledge and innovation, we can remain the most sustainable system in the world. Planned cuts to research and the scrapping of the Growth Fund, for example, do show that we as a sector need to fund much more research and innovation ourselves. Fortunately, an increase from the low to the high VAT rate for flowers and plants is out of the question. Active lobbying has contributed to this. Politics can be fickle, so we remain on our guard. The government sees the importance of entrepreneurship for the earning capacity of the Netherlands and links this to promises of reducing the regulatory burden and stable fiscal policy. That too is positive. However, like VNO-NCW, I am concerned that the cabinet has no eye for the long-term earning capacity of our country. The cuts in knowledge, innovation, and education are worrying in that context."
FSI certification scheme
"Sustainability in all its aspects is a spearhead for Royal FloraHolland. One of those aspects is certification. The FSI board recently adopted an adapted scheme for the certification of small-scale growers. This scheme incorporates input from stakeholders, including adapting and simplifying the scheme's criteria and rules. Additional consideration was given to reducing administrative burdens and costs. This marks the next step towards 100% sustainability certification in 2027. We meet members in the Klok Focus package with a contribution of €250 on the cost of FSI Certification for turnover up to €250,000."
Floriway
"In recent months, Floriway, led by new management, has greatly improved its services and results. With this in mind, we will soon make a number of decisions on how Floriway will develop further."
Source: Royal FloraHolland.