During a recent ‘Kom in de Kas’ event in the Netherlands, the first question one of the visitors asked a rose grower was: How was Valentine’s Day? The holiday had taken place quite some time before, but clearly the visitor was well aware of its importance for the rose industry. Rose is discussed much more than any other flower. Not so strange perhaps, as it is, and will always be, an important crop. With a global supply and demand.
Text and photo’s Hans Neefjes
Here’s another story featuring rose, Valentine’s and price formation. A trader could have saved almost 100,000 euros, if he’d bought his red Valentine’s roses from grower X instead of grower Y. His impression was that quality didn’t really explain the difference in price. Why buy the more expensive roses then? That’s what the end customer wanted, and he paid the difference without any complaints. Specific numbers, prices and lengths weren’t shared. The only thing mentioned was that it regarded a relatively large trader. The dynamics with regards to price formation and supply are huge for rose.
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