The Netherlands: Floriculture Exports Down in September
- 31 October 2012
With a decline of 7% to € 371 million in September, the export value of flowers and plants from the Netherlands in the first quarter of the year declined to just over € 1 billion. The cumulative figures up to September increase by 4% to an export turnover of € 4.2 billion.
These are figures from the floricultural trade board HBAG in the Netherlands. With an increase of 5% to € 2.6 billion, flowers are doing better than plants. The export of plants increased by 2% to € 1.6 billion.September was a disappointing month for the export. This was the case for both cut flowers (-6% to € 227 million) and the pot and bedding plants (-7% to € 144 million).
Until September, the differences of the export developments per country are big. The export to Russia, the fifth export destination for Dutch exporters, went up by 33% to € 200 million. The destination with the most dramatic decrease in the top 15 was Czech Republic; the export went down by 15 percent to € 62 million.
In the top-5 countries, accounting for two-thirds of the export turnover, the export to France (-3% to € 489 million) and Italy (-6% to € 215 million) went down. To Spain, the flower and plant exports in September dropped by 23 percent, which is the result of the increase in VAT from 8% to 21%. There are rumors about a VAT increase in Germany.
For the whole of 2012, it is expected that the export of flower and plant will increase by 4% compared to 2011
Source: HortiBiz - The Netherlands: Floriculture Exports Down in September