Harry Brockoff was the CFO of Dutch Flower Group for more than twenty years . Dutch Flower Group is a family of more than thirty specialised trading companies that together serve the external floriculture industry . In the summertime of 2022 , Harry handed over the baton to Joost Gietelink . Harry is now a member of the Advisory Board simply because the ornamental horticulture sphere is not letting go of him . Svensson lately had the pleasure of interviewing Harry to learn more about his career , sustainability in floriculture , and vision for the future tense .
An of import part ofDutch Flower Group’sstrategy is to ' team up Up With Growers ' to strengthen the joint place in the chain . Why is this important?Harry : " If you work together , you could respond much quicker to the wish of the client and , at last , the consumer . This is crucial not only in our sector but also in other sector . We know what the consumer wants , and we coordinate the pass . In this way , we forestall unnecessary costs in the provision chain , but also a waste matter of packaging cloth , for example . Suppose , as a grower , you always package your flowers in a certain agency , but the retail merchant repackages it because the consumer want a dissimilar publicity . That is , of class , incredibly inefficient and waste ; we wreak to remove this kind of noise . And that ’s how we put focus on corporal societal responsibility at Dutch Flower Group . For the long terminal figure , because we enter into strategic partnerships to make the range more robust . And at the oddment of the day , the consumer gets more value for their money . A beautiful ware for a reasonable price . "
In 2022 , the demand for flowers laze . The export note value fell from € 7.3 billion in 2021 to € 7.1 billion in 2022 . As a result , floriculture is no long number one in the agricultural export list of the Netherlands . How do you see the future of floriculture exportation ? Where are opportunity and/or challenges?Harry : " To paint a realistic picture , you have to view the figures from a historical perspective and compare the shape for 2022 with 2019 : the year before the coronavirus pandemic break out . Then , you will still see a low dip in 2022 , but that drop is not that swelled . ““What are the prospect of Dutch export ? The Netherlands has a leading position , and I do not see that changing for the sentence being . We have various logistics hub and greenports from which we export our floriculture products abroad . That has been the case for decades , as we in the Netherlands are experts . You ca n’t just copy that . So I am confident about the future . There are still plenty of chance in Europe . But we will have to retain to listen carefully to consumer demand and move along with it . "
" As for the challenge , of form , the vitality crisis puts pressure level on our militant position . If we do n’t address that , we ’re going to lose it in the long running play . But I do n’t believe it will come to that . The sector has often bear witness to be inventive . DOE is saved and made more sustainable in every potential way . But that does not castrate the fact that you should go forward to do scenario analysis , just like we did with Brexit . At that clip , we also sketch various scenarios of the impact on the floriculture sphere to be able to anticipate developments in time . To harness is to look into the future . "
Which trend(s ) in retail do you imagine flower grower should keep a close eye on?Harry : " Then I follow back to that consumer ’s wish . you could grow such a beautiful flower , but if the consumer does not want it , then it is of no habit . Another movement is , of course , sustainably - sourced products . you’re able to see that consumers are eating more and more seasonal vegetables , for object lesson . This tendency is also keep in floriculture . People want to be less pollution and environmental impact . you’re able to also see this trend towards sustainability in the packaging material . Plastic muckle are becoming lite , and a bunch of flowers is now more often wrap in paper . It is up to the floriculture sector to continue to storm consumers with beautiful , sustainable products so that the consumer know : the most has been done to concentrate the shock on the surround . Only then will citizenry continue to buy a bunch of flush that make them glad . "
Greenhouse gardening has the ambition to shape in a circular fashion . How far is floriculture?Harry : " We ’ve come a long manner , but there ’s still a fate to do . You should never sit still because standing still is going backwards . We all screw that . But we have already achieve a stack in our sphere . If you look at the past times , we have already made considerable progress in pee management , moderate lighting , how we consider with bleak materials , and the wellness of the crop . If we look to the future , yes , we will have to take further steps there . collaborationism is also important here , in the context of ' team up Up With cultivator ' . It is a journey we are on together . "
How innovative is the floriculture sector?Harry : " chalk horticulture is a sphere in which entrepreneurs roll up their sleeves and go for something . I see unprecedented entrepreneurship among raiser . They are always crop on how something can be improved . Of naturally , there are currently growers who are having a hard sentence with the gamy accelerator pedal prices , but there are also growers who still realize a upright living with a in high spirits energy price . normally , because they already took innovative steps years ago . "
" The World Horti Center in Honselersdijk , The Netherlands , is also a practiced illustration of collaboration and innovative power . This is where business , Education Department , and research come together to get a line and innovate . The Dutch Flower Group , therefore , has a fond heart for the World Horti Center . "
in conclusion , the next candidate for Svensson ’s ' In conversation with ' is Annie van de Riet . What question would you like to involve her?Harry : " In which sphere could the government sustain Dutch horticulture to improve its competitive stead ? "
For more data : Ludvig Svensson[email protected]www.ludvigsvensson.com
