Wholesale - South Africa - Flower Companies

Tips on how to choose flower import company in floriculture directory

When you are searching for a flower importer, there are some criteria you should check. At first we advise you to do a background check for every company you do business with, you can do this at Agro-Check.nl. It is also important to know In what region the import company is specialized. Do they provide good quality products? Do they have continuous supply of flowers/plants? How do they handle the logistics? Do their services add value? Most of the information about flower import business you can find in floriculture online directory: choose interesting for you location, check company pfofiles, read reviews, fined contact information, compare and find the best flower importer to work with. Good luck!

 

Flower import business

Sometimes, import of floriculture products can be much more advantageous than investment of money in a local flower cultivation. Even in the Netherlands, globally recognized country of flowers, they are brought from Africa or other warm regions on other continents. Consequently, it can be easier and more profitable to import products, and here actually one of the effects of globalization of the world can be observed.

Historically, Holland has become the legislator of flower fashion and afterwards of flower business. As a rule, flower import business in the Netherlands is family one. Traditions pass from generation to generation, while technologies improve. This lets to grow that amount of qualitative floral products (plants, seeds and fresh cut flowers) that two times a year on the streets of Amsterdam entrepreneurs create fragrant carpet of fresh petals and organize lush flower caravans. The country has enough amount of professionals in cultivating, marketing of flower market, many sellers and amateurs of floriculture. But Dutch have been going to this for 150 years.                           

Every year in the EU about 450 000 tons of floriculture products are imported. More than 300 000 tons take cut flowers and foliage. About 100 000 tons of potted plant are imported and 50 000 of bulbs and corms.

 

Flower importing countries

The Netherlands are the largest flower importing country in the world, taking 45% of all international flower import. The price of flower import by the Netherlands equals nearly 4 billion of dollars. Large amount of flowers, imported by the Netherland, afterwards are exported to other countries. Most of the trade take place at auctions. In Netherlands there are the greatest auctions of floriculture products in the world. Many of them are available as for companies and their representatives, as for tourists, who can watch how the process goes on.  Colombia and Ecuador are other big,importers, with 15% and 9% in accordance. Kenya (7,3%) and Ethiopia (4%) close the list of leading five countries world largest importers of floriculture products.

World's biggest auction is FloraHolland. This Dutch company controls 90% of cut flower market in the Netherlands and its turnover is worth about $4 billion annually. The square of flower exchange is like 100 of football fields in width (almost 75 of hectares).  

On flower auction flowers are sold only from Holland, but from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium and few other countries too. Important part of the market make plants, cultivated in the Netherlands. Logistic way of the flower starts in the green-house, where it is cut and loaded to the special termovans (flowers are grown in Holland) or flower is transported to the plane (if flower comes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ecuador or other countries). After transportation flowers are kept in the refrigerating rooms until the start of auction.

Usually, bidding for the lot does not last longer than a minute. Every hour over a thousand of deals are agreed. Flower trades are the most active at 9 a.m. and auctions sell about 200 million of flowers a day.

The most popular flower in global trades are roses, chrysanthemums, tulips, lilias and African chamomiles. The biggest amount of companies importers are from Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and Sweden.

On this Dutch auction it is possible to purchase flowers in single boxes and pellets,, however, as a rule, multiton trucks of flowers are bought. It is economically justified to purchase at least one lorry of flowers.

Internationally most popular and most imported flowers are roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, and tulips. Gerberas and lilias are also in a big demand.