Flora Holland sales of cut flowers firmly lower

According to Flora Holland, November sales of cut flowers at the auction were considerably lower than a year ago. "This product group makes up the largest portion of sales via the auction clock. The weather was also unremarkable. The season for garden plants is coming to a close and in particular, the supply was reduced. However, we are seeing the return of typical seasonal products across all product groups, particularly in the house plants group. In comparison to 2012, total sales were 3.3% lower with volumes having been reduced by 5.4%. The average price amounted to €0.383; an increase of barely € 0.01", states Flora Holland on it's website

Sales of cut flowers solidly lower

In November, sales of many cut flowers could be described as disappointing. With 8.5%, Roses made the largest concessions in the top 10. In comparison to November 2012, an average price of €0.181 (€0.005 higher than this year) was achieved with 6% fewer stems. With a drop of approx. 7% in sales, Tulips also fell quite far behind and the reduced volume (-7.5%) was more than certainly to blame. Sales of both Cut Orchids and Lisianthus dropped by more than 6% in comparison to November 2012. Cut Orchids were supplied in larger volumes (+2.7%), but dropped in price by more than €0.20. The price of Lisianthus was approx. €0.025 lower, while the supply volumes remained stable. There were two positive peaks: Disbudded Chrysanthemum and Lilies. Disbudded Chrysanthemum realized an increase in price of more than €0.09 with 12.3% fewer stems. Lilies achieved an increase in sales of more than 7% thanks to a €0.05 increase in price in comparison to 2012. For cut flowers, November came to a close with a reduction in sales of 5.5% and an equal reduction in volumes. As such, the average price remained at €0.239. House plants, however, performed well.

This year's supply of Phalaenopsis was also lower (-2.2%) than in November 2012. The average price did increase, but did not quite reach the €4.00 mark. Of the seasonal products, the sales of Pot Amaryllis developed positively, primarily thanks to a €0.02 increase in the average price. Pot hyacinth, and Poinsettias in particular, showed lower supply levels than in 2012. Prices did not vary much in comparison to last year. Schlumbergera's price performed well with a substantially lower supply. The sales of Pot Anthurium and Bromelia declined, with sales of Pot Anthurium actually increasing while its price plummeted; the opposite was the case for Bromelia. Cyclamen plants were popular and with an increase in pots of more than 5%, the average price rose by €0.05. The sales of house plants were lower by 0.5% with 3.2% fewer units sold than in November 2012. However, the average price of €1.626 meant an increase of €0.045.

Supply of garden plants sharply reduced

This group is less significant in November, although Christmas rose is a typical seasonal product. The 1.4 million plants (an increase of 5.4%) available realized approx. €0.06 less in sales than in 2012. In addition, the supply, in particular, was under a lot of pressure. Generally speaking, this resulted in positive pricing in comparison to last year. In total, garden plants realized 1% less with more than 8% fewer units sold, leading to an average price of €1.132, which is €0.083 higher than in November 2012!

Source: Flora Holland