Westland flower auction clock to stop by 2030
Royal FloraHolland will phase out its auction clock in Honselersdijk and Naaldwijk and move clock trading to Aalsmeer, a change that will cut jobs at the Westland site.
Royal FloraHolland will stop using its own auction clock at its Westland site (Naaldwijk and Honselersdijk) by 2030 at the latest. Clock trading will be phased out gradually and shifted to Aalsmeer. The first cut flowers were traded via the clock in Naaldwijk in March 1923.
Royal FloraHolland expects jobs at the site to decline in the coming years. Its director, Pieter Bootsma, says much of the loss can probably be absorbed through retirement and voluntary departures.
“I understand that this decision is far-reaching for part of our staff, growers and buyers,” Bootsma said.
The company says fewer flowers and plants are sold via the clock in Honselersdijk, and that growers and buyers increasingly deal directly and digitally. According to Royal FloraHolland, the current way of working is no longer financially justified.
The Honselersdijk site will not close, the company says. It is investing more than €250m there, including a new installation for cleaning flower buckets and other packaging, a new area for buyers and more loading and unloading bays for trucks.
Royal FloraHolland will talk with growers and buyers in the coming weeks to work out the plans.
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Royal FloraHolland
Royal FloraHolland is a Dutch cooperative of flower and plant growers that runs trading markets for cut flowers and plants, mainly through clock auctions in which prices drop until a buyer accepts. It operates several trading locations across the Netherlands, including the Westland and Aalsmeer sites, and it also runs digital trading platforms that connect growers with buyers worldwide. It matters in the Netherlands because much of the country's flower and plant trade, and the horticultural sector around Westland, depends on its auctions and logistics.