What a joy, that first Formula-1 race of the season! I hadn’t seen such an exciting opening race for a long time! It seems like Max’s determination to stick with the same team is going to pay off, after all.
A vehicle that was not moving anywhere fast recently, was the Ever Given. Quite an achievement of the captain, parking this ship transversely in a canal where all you need to do, is sail straight through it. A large part of the global ocean trade came to a halt. My first thought was: how many containers of flowers are stuck in this?
After all, shipping roses to the Netherlands by sea cargo is FloraHolland’s latest hobby. I’ve been following the developments with great interest. Although I’m not joining in, as I don’t believe in it. The flower market remains incredibly unpredictable, and sea cargo doesn’t allow you to respond to these fluctuations. Not to mention all the problems regarding quality.
On the other side of the Atlantic, it’s more common for flowers to be shipped by ocean freight. But a trip from South to North America only lasts 6 to 8 days. The journey from East Africa to Aalsmeer usually takes about a month, without obstacles that is. Nonetheless, FloraHolland seems to be convinced it’s the way to go. They’re willing to go to great lengths for it.
But shockingly, the auction doesn’t mention which flowers came to the Netherlands by sea when they’re displayed for clock sales. In my opinion, that tells you the auction has something to hide. If the flowers that are shipped by ocean freight are just as fresh as the flowers flown in by airplanes, isn’t that something to be proud of? Wouldn’t you want to tell the entire market about it? Look, what we can do!
Presumably, the carbon footprint of flowers shipped by ocean freight is lower – another benefit to tell everyone about! If this information remains hidden, how can the market learn about this new transporting method? While at the end of the day, the market decides.
The same applies to the various certifications, we advertise them for a reason. Timaflor, for example, has been MPS A+ certified for a while now. We’re very proud of this of course, and pleased that this information is displayed on the auction clock every morning!
Thomas Fransen,
General manager Timaflor
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