Our day started off bright and early with a visit to Royal Flora Holland, the largest flower auction in the world. When we walked into the warehouse, the first thing I noticed was how large it was! It took us a little over an hour to walk around its perimeter. The employees drove motorized carts filled with flowers and were moving very quickly! It was super interesting to see how efficient and streamlined the whole process was. The auction opens at 6am, and when we arrived an hour later, everyone was busy at work! We learned that when flowers are sold in the auction, it takes less than 90 minutes for Royal Flora Holland to begin the shipping process and less than 48 hours for them to arrive at their destination. As a flower company, Royal Flora Holland must be extremely efficient. Once flowers are picked, they have a very limited shelf life and must be given to consumers as quickly as possible.
After our visit to the flower auction, we headed over to De Tulperij, a farm in Bollenstreek owned by the Jansze family. We met with Daan Jansze, who taught us all about the process of growing and harvesting tulips. I was surprised to learn that the De Tulperij farm’s main source of business is bulbs, and not the flowers. In fact, Daan explained that when the tulips bloom in the spring, they are there for only a short period of time before the flower tops are removed. This allows the tulips to focus all of their energy into the bulbs, meaning that they will produce larger bulbs and in turn, larger flowers in the future. We were able to see the one remaining field of red tulips before they are removed towards the end of this week.
Getting to look at both the front-end and back-end operations in the Netherland’s floriculture industry was very eye-opening, especially since they are the most important exporter of flowers and plants in the world. Both Royal Flora Holland as well as De Tulperij contribute to the supply chain of flowers in the Netherlands in different ways. As a cooperative, Royal Flora Holland connects the suppliers with buyers from their auction. De Tulperij produces flowers and harvests bulbs, which are then directly sold to consumers.
For the rest of the day, me along with most of our group are taking some time to relax in the hotel before our dinner at Kop Van Jut. There, we will be enjoying a traditional Dutch dinner. I am looking forward to trying their stamppot, which is a traditional Dutch dish made of potatoes, vegetables, and sausage. See you tomorrow!
