The Flower Label Program (FLP) certification scheme has been successfully benchmarked with the Fair Flowers Fair Plants (FFP) standard. With immediate effect, all FLP-certified producers can now market their produce also under the FFP-consumer label. The FLP producers can extend the FFP assortment at short notice. Due to the recent increase of FFP points of sale in Europe, these flowers will be more than welcome. At the same time, FLP is the first consumer label which enables it’s growers to market as well under FFP.

The standards of FLP, its audit principles and its checklist comply with the FFP benchmark document. To market their produce as well under FFP the actual 38 FLP growers, coming mainly from Ecuador and Germany, only have to register their company with FFP. “With this benchmark FLP has opened additional marketing channels for its certified producers,” explains Gertrud Falk, president of FLP. The growing assortment of FFP cut flowers and plants is awaited eagerly by the international trade. “With this new approved certification program, the FFP ‘umbrella’ consumer label in the meantime works together with 6 certification programs, equal to the FFP standard” says Regina Dinkla, executive manager of FFP.

Certifications meeting the FFP standard
The FFP standard is based on the ICC (the International Code of Conduct of social responsible and environmental friendly flower production) and environmentally equal to MPS-A. Worldwide there are several certification programs focussing on sustainable aspects. Fair Flowers Fair Plants’ aim is to have a general consumer label for different b-to-b certifications. Over the past years various certification programs have been compared to the FFP standard and in the meantime accepted as approved certification schemes for FFP participation.
These are: MPS Socially Qualified, Fiore Giusto, Kenya Flower Council Silver Code of Practice, Forest Garden Products, Control Union Fair Choice and Flower Label Program.

Flower Label Program
FLP has been the first label implementing the ICC. Being a multi-stakeholder association, FLP’s strength is the close contact to it’s producers, traders and flower consumers. Besides certification and marketing, FLP offers workers trainings and has recently published material on workers’ rights for all workers of it’s Ecuadorian farms.

Source: FFP

This year, FloraHolland flower auction celebrates its having been existence for a hundred years. With the motto of 100 Years’ Color, the jubilee will be marked this autumn at FloraHolland’s marketplaces in Aalsmeer, Bleiswijk, Eelde, Naaldwijk and Rijnsburg. A century ago, growers agreed on the organization of the first local-scale flower auction, over a game of billiards in a pub.

A hundred years on, FloraHolland is a still-growing, internationally-active auction company: each day, the cooperative sees 8,000 Dutch and foreign growers delivering their flowers and plants; 2,500 professional customers (including many exporters and wholesalers) doing their purchasing; and a staff of well over 4,000 come to work. The auction has a turnover of 4.1 billion euros and sells more than 12 billion flowers and plants a year, making it a significant contributor to the Dutch economy.

So big but still a cooperative
Despite their ever-growing reach and scale, these flower auctions remain cooperatives. In other sectors of the Dutch economy, too, the number of cooperatives is currently on the rise — which goes to show the strength of this form of organization, even in harder times.

Of FloraHolland’s 8,000 suppliers of flowers and plants, 5,000 are members of the cooperative. Together, these individual entrepreneurs are the owners of the auction company, electing nine flower and plant growers from among their own number as the Cooperative Board, and — assembled as the General Members’ Meeting — having the final say in the running of the cooperative.

The aim of the cooperative, which is a nonprofit venture, is to obtain the best possible prices for its members’ flowers and plants, for the lowest possible operating costs.

Auction clock in constant development
The first generation of mechanical auction clocks bears little resemblance to today’s virtual clocks. Yet their purpose and operation remain unchanged: to bring together supply and demand for flowers and plants each day in a focused and transparent manner, in order to elicit the best market price currently available, at the moment that the downwards auction price is stopped with a sale. The technology of these clock systems has been in constant development over the past century. Even in 2011, the auction clock — now projected overhead or remotely accessed — remains a vital sales tool. The future of the auction clock will see ongoing investment not only in digital sales technologies but also in mediating (via FloraHolland Connect) direct transactions for flowers and plants.

Increasingly international
Roughly 85% of the total auction sales is exported by trading companies, to approximately 140 countries. The most important customers are in Western Europe, particularly in Britain, France and Germany. The strongest growth markets for Dutch flower exporters are the Central and Eastern European states and Russia.

Both in the Netherlands and in export markets, flowers and plants grown abroad are increasingly being sold alongside Dutch products, making FloraHolland flower auction — which imports from 60 countries — a commercial and logistics hub. As the largest auction organization in the world by a long way, the cooperative brings together international supply and demand.

Source: FloraHolland

Europe has issued a fresh warning of possible revenue losses for Kenya should the East African Community (EAC) fails to reach a trade deal soon.

“Kenya risks taxation on its exports to Europe by virtue of economic strength if the trade talks stall”, Mr Bernard Rey, head of the European Delegation told players in the horticulture sector. “EAC should realise the risks of the current situation of uncertainty. Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, all are least-developed countries, will enjoy duty-free quota access to the EU markets even if the EPA (economic partnership agreement) is not signed,” Mr Rey
said. “But Kenya will risk seeing tariffs imposed on a good number of exports to Europe including horticulture products”.

The EU said it was concerned that negotiators from the East African team are yet to respond to its latest move to relax their position over the terms that need to be met for a new trade pact with East Africa to be concluded, frustrating the talks.

The region —under the EAC bloc— has been negotiating the contents of EPAs with European Commission since 2007 — the deadline that World Trade Organisation gave its members to scrap all the non-reciprocal preferential trade agreements such as the ones Europe used to extend to its former colonies.

For Kenyan exporters, this legal void has created a lot of uncertainty. They cannot tell for how long the European Commission will continue to extend the preferential trade relations. And even as those preferential terms last, exporters are well aware of the enormous risk they are exposing themselves to since there is no treaty to turn to in case of a dispute. “Growers are looking to the EU being an important destination for the Kenyan products to hasten the negotiations and provide assurance that whatever happens, Kenya, under special circumstances, will not be worse off,” said Kenya Flower Council in a statement.

Source: Business Daily

2010 was an important year for the Belgian distribution market. This was the year Dutch supermarket Albert Heijn officially confirmed its arrival, Delhaize started an offensive and Carrefour also showed a fighting spirit again. With the Dutch threat so definitive all of a sudden, there even was the possibility of a price war.

But what was the actual result for the supermarkets and what was the real result according to the figures? Following a good annual tradition Marketing Map prepared their report.

At the top of the Belgian distribution market the same trio is in control. Colruyt, Carrefour (including Champion) and Delhaize together control more than 70% of the market. Colruyt remains the market leader, whilst Delhaize overtook the duo Carrefour-Champion and became second (+0,4%).

And despite deserving attempts of their competitors it does not look like quick changes in the offing. Aldi with a critical mass of 450 shops is closest, but the hard discounter experienced a decrease in turnover last year for the first time in its history. It was only -0.5% and the chain achieved a cumulative increase in turnover of 2% in 2011 again. The complete Belgian hard discount sector (being Aldi and Lidl) has a market share of 16.8%.

Source: Retaildetail.eu (11/7/2011)

All 27 EU member states will have to adhere to new rules on food labelling, giving consumers more information about the nutritional aspects of packaged food products. The new EU food labelling laws were given the last nod by the European Parliament last week and are expected to enter into force in three years’ time, giving food manufacturers ample time to adapt to the new regime.

The main changes will concern the origin of all type of meat and nutritional information on all packaged food. Until now, producers were only obliged to state the origin of beef. The new rules extend the “origin” information to all types of meat including pork, chicken and lamb. The rule of origin will also apply to other types of food such as honey, olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables and in future could also be extended to other categories, like meat when used as an ingredient, milk or unprocessed foods.

The European Commission must, however, first carry out impact assessments to weigh up the feasibility and potential costs of applying the rule to unprocessed foods. Another novelty will be the introduction of compulsory nutritional values. According to the new regime, the energy content and amounts of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and salt must all be stated in a legible tabular form on the packaging together and in the same field of vision. All this information has to be expressed per 100g or per 100ml. It may also, in addition, be expressed per portion. It should also become easier for consumers to inspect whether a product contains allergenic substances as they will have to be highlighted in the ingredient list. The new rules also state that information on allergens must be given for non-packaged foods, for example on food sold in restaurants or canteens.

Member states may decide how the information is to be made available to consumers. Consumer groups positively welcomed the new rules even though they expressed dismay at the exclusion of alcohol – a big lobbying industry. “Why doesn’t the alcohol industry do it? If it’s such a natural product why is it such a big secret,” said Marianne Skar, from European Alcohol Policy Alliance. European Health Commissioner John Dalli said plans to include alcohol in the new legislation could still be in the pipeline. “On alcohol, I believe we will be making our own studies to see whether we can come to an arrangement to have some type of nutrition information on alcoholic beverages,” he said. Traceability of Europe’s food became a major issue during the recent E. coli outbreak.

Source: Times of Malta.com

In April, about 30 Vietnames exporters participated in a joint CBI and ITPC workshop about Market Research. The course, which was carried out with collaboration by ProVerde, aims to provide exporters with knowledge, skills and tools to collect and analyse data about EU markets, EU buyers, and EU restrictions to export/trade and trade channels.

The market research workshops are designed to be practical and focus around individual and group exercises to complement the short blocks of theory.

Among the topics dealt with in the workshop are:

• What is market research, primary & secondary research, desk & field research
• Market research process
• Online and offline market information sources
• Free market information sources on the internet
• What are market access requirements, and where to find them
• Search engines, portals & directories
• Finding buyers through online sources such as online business directories, trade associations and E-marketplaces
• Market Research Strategies
• Interview techniques

Source: ProVerde

Already a top 5 EU flower supplier, Ethiopia steps up its market drive

Ten years ago, Ethiopian flower exports were virtually non-existent. Today, the country ranks among the European Union’s top 5 fresh-cut flower suppliers and floriculture has become one of the nation’s main foreign exchange earners. Economic woes in 2009 and the effects of the ash cloud in 2010 caused a minor shakeout, but about a hundred growers have emerged from these storms stronger and more eager than ever to consolidate and expand on their export position by stepping up their market drive, improving efficiency and diversifying product ranges.

As far as the flower industry is concerned, the worst of the economic recession seems to be over. Though prices may not climb back to pre-crisis levels, the 2009 slump seems to be a thing of the past, with EU imports steadily rising. Trade figures on the whole suggest the global flower market is rebounding and the mood in the market is one of cautious optimism.

Catching up on Kenya
In Ethiopia, the hard times floored some companies, but also produced a seasoned export sector whose impressive growth since 2000 can no longer be passed off as a fluke. Ethiopia now holds a firm position among the Top 5 EU suppliers – along with Kenya, Ecuador, Colombia and Israel – and an impressive second place among Dutch auction suppliers.

The share of Ethiopian flowers in EU imports doubled from 6% in 2005 to 12% in 2010. Statistics suggest Ethiopia is steadily catching up on Kenya. Kenyan flower exports, like those of Ethiopia, grew robustly over the last decade, however, Kenyan growers appear to have suffered more from the crisis. In 2009, Kenyan exports were down 7% compared to the preceding year, while Ethiopia exported 34% more to the EU. What’s more, preliminary figures suggest similar developments in 2010.

Lean, mean and market-driven
The Ethiopian growers who survived 2009 and 2010 are well aware that long-term success will not come easy. With support from various national and international institutes, these growers are bracing themselves for rigorous self-improvement programmes. Their key growth opportunities, they recognise, lie in becoming leaner and meaner and relentlessly market-driven. This means adopting continuous improvement programmes on the farms to streamline business processes, cut costs and raise the quality of every last detail. It also means developing product ranges according to market preferences, as well as getting online and connecting with the ongoing virtualisation of the flower trade.

Source: Excerpt from article in HortiMagazine (March 2011) “From Newcomer to Recognised Supplier” by Milco Rikken, ProVerde

With the assistance of Hortiwise, the Uganda Floricultural Association (UFA) is set to pilot the export of local flowers to European markets.

UFA is embarking on the task of getting potential buyers in the European market where in this very month of February, a commercial trial shipment will be conducted to obtain insights on the quality aspects as well as getting feedback from potential buyers in Europe.

Read more in the allAfrica.com article

ProVerde is pleased to announce the participation in Hortiwise, a new initiative in which a team of experienced horticultural professionals joins forces.

Hortiwise provides training and consultancy services in the horticultural sector by combining a broad set of disciplines, covering all relevant aspects for horticultural export development.

With practical and relevant training courses, Hortiwise aims to enhance export performance and compliance levels of companies in the horticultural industry.

Hortiwise provides a cost-effective way to improve skills of staff and management by delivering tailored programmes on any export related topic. The team of experienced trainers strives to deliver flexible and innovative training. The working method is often a combination of presentations and exercises: “learning by doing”. Participation and interaction are central points.

Participants are quick to appreciate that the courses and workshops are not “text book” material but provide real answers to real problems – as well as giving “insider” tips and good cost saving and compliance advice.

Hortiwise has developed an extensive set of training modules, covering a wide area of topics and themes. For more information, please refer to www.hortiwise.com

While Europe is checking her salt deposits and people are preparing for Christmas in the cold winter months, Chileans celebrate their holidays close to the beaches as summer is coming up now. But not before they have completed their harvest for the European market.

Besides the fact that the climate in Chile shows huge disparities within the country, spring season is a busy period for the companies that are active in the still modest floricultural export activities. South America always had the vertical trade routes burned into the mindset, but Europe has become an interesting export destination for flowers as well. Especially in the situation when the euro holds a better exchange rate to the local Peso (CLP) than the US dollar.

In 2010 and 2011 we see a significant increase in the amount of planted crops for floricultural purposes. Dropping margins on some fruits forces entrepreneurs to shift and spread their risks. This is why we see fruit farms having their ‘flower corner’ to investigate if this would be interesting for the future.

The largest farm with exclusively flower purposes there is in Chile is Agroaustral. Located in the south of Chile, they enjoy climate that is perfect to grow peonies and lots of other crops. CEO and owner German Barrientos has about 12 hectares of different products, which are sold in the local market, the United States and in Europe. To make sales in Europe feasible, a niche market needs to be available in order to start up the export program. Benefits and scale advantage in labour and production costs are not as big as we see in Africa, but the availabity of certain volumes of ‘out season’ flowers/varieties, creates opportunities. Barrientos chooses to work with FloraHolland in the European market, in a partnership with his Dutch agent. Barrientos: ‘I prefer to work through FH, because it guarantees me a safe, complete and well-informed insight about all aspects of sales and finances’
The future for Chile as flower producers depends on different aspects. Logistics and currency fluctuations remain important, as the scale of business is still small. Barrientos: ‘First and most important is that Chile is a stable country in political and economical sense. Secondly, Chile has a strong incentive to exports.
For flowers, we have different types of weather, which makes it special, because we can produce everything in one country. But we must quicken pace and find solutions to logistical problems as soon as possible, given the explosive growth of exports like salmon, fruit, seeds and flowers. It is working well in this line and we hope to resolve this as soon as possible, so we can meet clients as appropriate.’

The quality of his products looks heavy and carefully produced. Even tulips are grown, however mainly for the local market. Agroaustral will export mainly peonies to The Netherlands, but also small volumes of Alium.
‘Because of the geographical location of AA, we are working to produce and sell products that require a climate with moderate temperatures and low. The idea is to send different types of flowers to Holland and to maintain and improve the business in North America. I hope to continue working and improving every day.’

Source: FloraHolland News (10.12.2010)