Due to the increasing importance of electronic trading the flower auctions as we currently know them will be a thing of the past in just ten years
Due to the increasing importance of electronic trading the flower auctions as we currently know them will be a thing of the past in just ten years. That is the expert assessment of Herman de Boon, the chairman of VGB – the Dutch Association of Wholesale Trade in Horticultural Products.
Financial, commercial as well as logistical transactions throughout the entire supply chain will be taking place virtually only through electronic platforms in the foreseeable future, the president of the wholesalers association signals.
“(flower auction) FloraHolland can provide a centralized and international electronic market place, but it is equally possible that traders come up with their own electronic platforms to facilitate direct contacts between producers and end consumers”, he is quoted as saying.
The relationship between the various parties in the chain will change completely in the coming ten years, De Boon warns. He expects that the market will ultimately decide exactly how the flower auction and the wholesalers and other traders will reposition themselves.
Auction tribunes will likely disappear, in favor of one electronic clock per product on which interested buyers can bid at a distance. Logistically, growers will drop off their products at a nearby auction point, which are subsequently distributed to other establishments. New logistics services will spring up between the auction hubs, De Boon envisions.
International trade flows between production regions, distribution centers and markets abroad are also expected to emerge. Although the system may gain in complexity, he expects the costs to turn out lower than with the current auction-centered structure.
De Boon made his comments during the Member’s Assembly of the VBG, which was held last week
Source: Florin