Valentine’s Day flower looks famous despite the cold and the Corona crisis | Currently

Valentine’s Day caused peak flower sales despite the Corona crisis and the winter weather, according to Tour. Florist Fleurop believes florists could be very popular this year, and now that going out for a romantic dinner is not an option for lovers due to the lockdown. Sales went well at the Royal FloraHolland Market.

Fleurop announced that it is already expanding business operations in order to keep the number of orders on the right track. “Florists buy extra flowers and have an army of conductors ready so Cupid can do his job.” At FloraHolland, sales in the market in the two weeks prior to next Sunday were 33 percent higher than last year. The top was, just like in other years, the rose. 152 million roses were sold in recent weeks and traded at higher prices.

For shops and market stalls, selling the flowers will likely be more difficult due to a combination of corona and frost scales, estimates Trade Manager Guus van Logtestijn of Plantion Auctioneers at Ede. “Flower shops are allowed to sell at the door only and most of the market stalls are closed, but flowers do not tolerate frost, so flower shops cannot place their flowers on the street.”

Van Logtestijn also notes that many of the flowers are usually carried by passenger aircraft, but that private cargo planes must now be used. The latter raises the prices for purchasing flowers.

Florca flower export company, which specializes in air freight to faraway destinations, is satisfied with the week before Valentine’s Day. “Despite the higher airfreight and flower prices, we achieved slightly higher volume and significantly higher turnover,” says COO, Carlo Vigverberg.

Most of Florca’s Valentine’s Day orders left for the winter weather last week. “Fortunately, we were not bothered by the cold and snow of the shipments that left last Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Vigferberg. Also at Kariflex florist wholesaler, all Valentine’s Day shipments have arrived to customers. “The winter weather required us more effort, but it did not cause any significant delay.”

Dutch flower and plant exporters can take good advantage of peak sales on Valentine’s Day. They started the new year with a 10 percent contraction in January, according to the VGB trade union. In Germany in particular, demand has fallen sharply due to the lockdown. Exports to the United Kingdom have also decreased, due in part to Brexit. “The fee for cut flowers has been paid dearly since January, because an 8 percent import tax applies to flower transit outside the European Union,” says VGB Director Matthijs Mesken.