• Food/Beverage
  • Wine/Beer/Spirits
  • Cannabis
  • Supply Chain
    • More Perishables
  • Hispanic Market Focus
  • Resources
    • About Supply Chain Sparrow
    • C.E.O. Insights
    • Contact Us
    • E-news Sign-up
    • Inspiration
    • Privacy Policy
    • SCSparrow Custom
    • Winging It! News Bites Podcast
  • VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021
  • Advertise with SCSparrow

VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Supply Chain Sparrow –Supply Chain News and Resources

The Perishables Ecosystem –Food, Wine, Cannabis & More

Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

SCSparrow Staff · April 2020 ·

Royal FloraHolland

Spring season is peak season for the flower industry, and roses, tulips and chrysanthemums are the go-to gift for Mother’s Day and other celebrations such as graduations and weddings. 

The Netherlands is one of the biggest flower exporting countries with 44 percent of the global market in floriculture trade, and the source of 77 percent of the world’s flower bulbs. Floricultural is also the country’s third-largest export sector.

But, the COVID-19 outbreak is decimating the industry practically overnight.

Royal FloraHolland is an international marketplace and cooperative for the floriculture industry. It operates four physical hubs throughout the Netherlands and facilitates over 100,000 transactions daily between growers and buyers. 

In March, Steven van Schilfgaarde, CEO of Royal FloraHolland, summed it up. “This crisis comes at the worst possible moment,” he said. “Without emergency loans from the government and banks and other forms of financial support, healthy businesses will soon collapse in the bushes. Branch-wide, we call for action before it is too late. It really is a few minutes before twelve.”

Van Schilfgaarde said prices for floriculture products have fallen by half in some instances. 

The dramatic slowdown in the industry means hundreds of thousands of fresh cut flowers are being destroyed. Indeed, Royal FloraHolland estimated that between 70 to 80 percent of the Netherlands’ total annual flower production is being destroyed, and the coming weeks are likely to be worse.

While the Netherlands’ Port of Rotterdam and Schipohl Airport remain open, there are fewer transport options as capacity via air and ocean is being slashed.

Schiphol Airport has scaled back its operations to focus on “core activities.” Passenger flights have been reduced significantly, but Schiphol is accommodating flights for the “repatriation of Dutch citizens, freight traffic [especially medicine and essential cargo], emergency services and alternative aircraft,” explained airport officials.

According to the Port of Rotterdam, the port will remain operational 24/7, even with the stricter measures by the Dutch government on March 23, which were implemented to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Fresh flowers are transported mostly via air, although more shipments are being transported by ocean via reefer containers. Now, both sectors are facing sizeable losses due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) said the ocean shipping industry is losing an estimated $350 million each week in lost revenues. In late February, a record-breaking two million containers in shipping capacity were idled, surpassing the 1.5 million-plus containers that were idled at the height of the 2009 global economic crisis. 

Not surprisingly, reefer containers are particularly scarce, noted the ICS. Many remain stranded in China, creating equipment shortages elsewhere around the world and stressing food growers, producers and shippers in every global market. 

As for ports, the International Chamber of Shipping said the ports of Rotterdam and Hamburg have been most impacted in Europe, while the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are taking the biggest hits in the U.S. with regards to reduced container volumes.

It’s not just the Netherlands that is suffering from the sudden downturn in floriculture trade.

Colombia and Ecuador are also major export markets for fresh flowers. Royal FloraHolland said exports from the two countries have already decreased by 80 percent and are expected to reach 100 percent soon, because “markets are closing and customers will stop all remaining orders from all markets.” 

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share via Email

Filed Under: More Perishables

Primary Sidebar

I VOTED (for cannabis)

No matter their political stripe, many Americans are in agreement with efforts to legalize recreational and medical cannabis.

On November 3, voters legalized marijuana for adult use in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Initiatives to legalize medical cannabis passed in Mississippi and South Dakota. The rapid expansion of legalized cannabis throughout the U.S. has a direct impact on the supply chain.

Let’s start by considering the food supply chain–a valuable case study with COVID-19 as the backdrop. Early on, Americans experienced food shortages at the retail level. Manufacturers and distributors scrambled to realign networks to supply grocery stores where demand was spiking, while shifting away from restaurants and the hospitality sector where demand was tanking. In a matter of months, online shopping and food delivery to consumers’ homes grew dramatically. As a result, the food supply chain is in the midst of reinventing itself.

The cannabis supply chain faces some similar challenges. Most importantly, there’s an opportunity now to learn and adopt best practices from the food and pharmaceutical supply chains with which it shares key commonalities.

What are the risks to the cannabis supply chain? California’s unprecedented fires this year threatened growers throughout the state. How quickly can infrastructure scale-up to meet demand, and at what cost? Commercial and industrial real estate is currently at a premium with the proliferation of e-commerce. What about transportation, distribution and logistics capabilities, including reverse logistics in the case of product recalls? Facilities, equipment, and skilled workers are in high demand, and as competition for these various assets tightens, what does that mean for the entire perishables sector (food, cannabis, wine, beverages, pharma, etc.) that need them? Collaboration and creativity can provide critical solutions across the board.

On a related note, a small handful of American and European companies are in talks with Rwanda now about exporting cannabis to the country to meet rising pharmaceutical demand. Supply Chain Sparrow has previously identified cannabis exports as a massive opportunity for the U.S., which of course, would require legislative changes at the federal level.

Vote. And keep on voting.

Be Brave. Fly Right. And keep in touch at info@scsparrow.com.

Lara L. Sowinski, Executive Editor

UPCOMING EVENT: Navigating Wine Logistics in a New World

VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

Join Alejandro MacCawley Vergara for our VinRoutes Summit 2020

Press Release: Digital Media Brand “Supply Chain Sparrow” Launches

E-news Sign-up

Supply Chain Sparrow Newsletter

Podcast: News Bites & Insights

featured cover art

Cannabis in Deutschland!

Podcast: Play in new window

Germany is the biggest market for medical cannabis outside of North America. Companies in Canada, and even the U.S., are eyeing opportunities.

Subscribe to Podcast

Google PodcastsAndroidby EmailRSSMore Subscribe Options

C.E.O. Insights: Eden Amirav, C.E.O. of Become

C.E.O. Insights

4 Ways Transportation and Shipping SMBs Can Get Back on Track After COVID-19

Logistics companies can emerge stronger post-pandemic by focusing on digitalization, creating new vendor partnerships and relationships, and getting lean, according to Eden Amirav, C.E.O. and co-founder of Become.

INSPIRATION

OFF THE EARTH WITH NASA

WE ARE BETTER WITH BACH

Support Netherlands Bach Society https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en

More Inspiration

Recent Posts

  • Now is the Time for Food Manufacturers to Embrace Digitalization Technologies
  • Q&A With Diageo On 2020 Sustainability Goals, Commitment to Diversity
  • Cheers to Robot Supported Happy Hours
  • Molecular Tagging Takes Cannabis Tracking & Tracing to the Next Level
  • Convenience Stores Pivot to Meet New Consumer Demands

Need Some Air? Contact Us

sparrow-contacts

Supply Chain Sparrow

1001 SW Emkay Dr., Suite 100
Bend, Oregon 97702

1 (408) 792-7005

TOPICS

Resources & Assets

  • SCSparrow Mission
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise with SCSparrow
    • Privacy Policy
  • Resources
  • SCSparrow Custom
  • Training & Certification
  • E-news Sign-up
  • Subscribe to Podcast
  • About Supply Chain Sparrow
  • VinRoutes Wine Supply Chain Summit 2020 – 2021

Tags

AI automation black market cannabis Canada cannabis cannabis compliance China climate change cold chain compliance conveniencestore coronavirus demandsensing Diageo digital supply chain Diversity Excise Tax financing foodservice foodsupplychain Germany GMP IOT Iron Apple Latin Trade legal cannabis manufacturing maquiladoras NAFTA Perishables ports quality management system reshoring robots Supply Chain supplychain Supply Chain News Supply Chain Talent Sustainability tracking and tracing USMCA wineindustry

Make Your Advertising Spend an Investment

logo for Supply Chain Sparrow

Advertise with SCSparrow

SCSparrow Archives

Footer

FLY BACK HOME

home-button

Copyright © 2021 • supply chain sparrow • Subscribe • privacy policy