Believe it or not, but it is estimated that European consumers spend a staggering 15 billion euro on cut flowers and flower arrangements per year. This market does not only consist of cut flowers, but includes a wide range of product groups like foliage, dried branches and even dried fruits and vegetables. Colourful dried corn stalks (maize), for instance, have been a big hit as a component in bouquets and flower arrangements.
It is a well-developed and highly competitive market which approaches saturation in some countries. As a result, traders are continuously seeking new, special and different products to distinguish themselves. Consumers want to be surprised: see something new and unexpected in the shops. It is obvious that this huge market offers varying opportunities for companies in developing countries as potential suppliers of natural products with ornamental features.
In view of this opportunity, ProVerde is looking for ways to match demand and potential suppliers. ProVerde is an internationally oriented company providing trade facilitation and trade mediation services to primarily companies in developing countries. We are based in The Netherlands, the centre of international floricultural trade, and specialised in marketing cut flowers & plants, florist items, and biodiversity products. Read more »
Date: Friday, July 23, 2010
Categories: Requirements
REACH is the chemical legislation of the EU that came into force on 1st June 2007 through Regulation (EC) No. 1907/2006. REACH will establish a new single regime throughout the 27 EU Member States for existing and new substances and requires manufacturers in the EU and EU importers of substances/preparations to register them. The Regulation itself counts almost 900 pages besides the many other documents, guidance papers and opinions that can be found on Internet. Read more »
As the climate in the EU is not suitable for the production of tropical fruit, the EU relies on imports of tropical fruits such as bananas –the most popular fruit in Europe–, pineapples, kiwifruit, avocados and mangos.
Temperate and sub-tropical species such as citrus fruit, grapes and pears are imported as well, but mainly in out of the European growing season. Countries in the southern hemisphere are able to supply when the countries in the northern hemisphere can not. This is also known as counter-season supply. For fruit products that can be stored, such as apples, the counter season is less evident. With the continual improvements in storage life and storage conditions of fruit products, the off-season is shortened. Read more »
Date: Thursday, July 8, 2010
Categories: CSR
Fair trade labels on flowers are becoming more common, especially in supermarkets. But why would growers have to put a label on their flowers if they are already fair trade? This article aims to provide some more insight into fair trade certification. Read more »
Date: Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Categories: Marketing
As far as network creation/strengthening concerned, the following five inter-related phases can be envisaged:
1) Promotion and motivation phase
2) Strategic planning phase
3) Pilot project phase
4) Strategic projects phase
5) Self management phase
Network: The term ‘network’ refers to a group of firms that co-operate on a joint development project – complementing each other and specializing in order to overcome common problems, achieve collective efficiency and conquer markets beyond their individual reach, and
Cluster: The term ‘cluster’ indicates a sectoral and geographical concentration of enterprises which produce and sell a range of related or complementary products and are, thus, faced with common challenges and opportunities.
Read more »
Following the success of the previous training activities and upon request of the Ethiopian flower sector, CBI organised four Master Classes as a key activity of CBI’s 2009 floricultural training programme in Ethiopia. The programme was developed in close cooperation with EHPEA and focused on different aspects of flower export marketing.
In the course of the Master Class training series, participants wrote a concise export marketing plan. The structure of the export marketing plan was used as the framework for the special topics covered in the training programme: Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), post-harvest and logistical requirements, market research in the flower business, getting the best price on the auction, and internal and external communication and client orientation. Read more »
Date: Friday, April 2, 2010
Categories: Market research, Requirements
In The Netherlands, growing numbers of commercial companies are choosing remote buying to purchase their products on the auction. As with image auctioning, where the product is not physically present at the auction clocks, with remote buying (KOA), auction buyers need not be sitting in the stands.
Often, the wholesale companies have established a special dealing room on their company premises for this purpose. In the comfort of their own offices, anywhere in the world, they can buy online on all the FloraHolland auction clocks. Growers, who supply the products, can see in real-time on the Internet how the buying process is going. Read more »
Date: Friday, March 26, 2010
Categories: News
HortCRSP is currently mapping horticultural development projects in order to populate an online resource that enables funding agencies and project creators to learn about existing projects, find potential linkages and identify areas of need.
The plan is to create two interactive web-based maps, one for ongoing projects and one for completed projects. Read more »
Date: Friday, March 26, 2010
Categories: Kenya, News
The country’s foreign exchange from horticulture dropped 2.8 per cent from KSh 73.7 billion in 2008 to KSh 71.6 billion last year.
According to the Daily Nation, produce for export fell due to drought and a drop in market demand for some products due to recession in Europe, Kenya’s main market.
Relative to 2008, the combined effects of these two caused an overall fall of 14.8 per cent in the quantity of exports. Read more »
Date: Saturday, February 27, 2010
Categories: Marketing, Requirements
Almost 20,000 different plants and flowers are traded by name at the Dutch flower auctions, each identified with their own product code. On average, 20,000 new products enter the market each year. The codes are used in every transaction concluded at the auction. Financial and logistical handling by the auctions is based on the product code system.
The product codes are initially used by the parties involved in trading through the auctions: growers, purchasing traders and the auctions themselves. Product codes can also be used to identify or communicate about a product throughout the chain, from processor to retailer. The current product code database for cut flowers, house plants and garden plants can be found on the FlorEcom site.
Would you like to receive assistance in acquiring a product code? ProVerde has experience in all aspects of introducing new floricultural products on the European market: registration, market introduction, promotion. Read more »