COOPERATIVE DAY

Standing strong together

The power of connection in floriculture

The floriculture sector faces major challenges as well as opportunities: from climate change and digitalisation to a changing consumer who wants higher quality and increasingly demanding products.

Meet the Impact Makers

Making floriculture more sustainable is in full swing. Growers, buyers and Royal FloraHolland itself work daily on practical solutions that make a difference: from smarter use of energy and circular packaging to better working conditions, care for water quality and responsible crop protection.

“With the mandatory NAT (non-auction turnover) statement we create a level playing field”

Those who sell floriculture products that are not settled through Royal FloraHolland will still pay a percentage to the cooperative. We call this NAT: non-auction turnover. But what exactly is it? Why does NAT exist? And how do growers deal with it? Tineke van Berkel (manager of quality, regulation and registration at JM van Berkel), Albert Kiep (co-owner at Kiepflower) and Walter Straathof (adviser on Cooperative Affairs at Royal FloraHolland) tell more.

Members have their say

How are you investing in the future?

The future is not later, it's now. This is especially true for business owners. If you want to be well prepared for the future, action is needed now. How do you go about this? After all, no one has a crystal ball. André Lankhaar (Lankhaar Nursery), John van der Slot (Floral Colors) and Bart van Kester (Qualily) discuss this in Members Talk.

NURSERY OF TOMORROW

Strong together into the future

Youth council member Ricardo van Os on business succession

During Cooperative Day on 11 December 2025, the Youth Council is organising an interactive session. The topic: business succession. An important issue. Companies tend to be more complex than ever before.

Chief Information Security Officer Bas Wevers

'Arm yourself against cybercriminals'

Let me get right to the point: my data has been stolen online. Yes, it even happened to me, someone who works on digital security every day.

Declining volumes but rising prices, structurally higher average prices and growing sales channels: auctioneer Erik Wassenaar outlines the most important trends and developments for 2025.

Voting result from member newsletter dated 24-09-2025

“The future of the floriculture sector depends on AI (artificial intelligence).”

CHAIRMAN SPEAKING

“I am impressed how much impact we can make'

I have been chairman of the Members' Council for over nine months now and I am impressed how much impact we can make as a Members' Council in the so-called triangle with the Management Board and Supervisory Board. This was one of the goals I set myself when I started.

Our cooperative in the news

Upcoming events

The issue

The statement: “The future of the floriculture sector depends on AI (artificial intelligence).”

Agree

Disagree

Voting result from the member newsletter dated 24-09-2025

Agree

More and more things will be automated in the future, and AI is a good application for making that as efficient as possible.

AI is an advance that is unstoppable. Whether we want it or not, the industry is automatically going along with it. At some point, we won't be able to live without it.

I partly agree, because there are always things that cannot be done using AI, but it is a means of saving money and time and can be used to come up with smart ideas. We need to make the best use of this resource in our sector.

Disagree

A great deal still involves daily trading. Human endeavour remains.

It's a good tool, but does not determine the survival of the sector

AI will always remain something that needs to be nurtured by people. Floriculture is a living organism. This means that it is always important to make adjustments based on what you see and experience. This can vary greatly and cannot be estimated in advance. AI can be a tool, but cultivation remains dependent on human action, intervention and guidance.

The survival of the sector depends on the willingness of flower consumers to buy.

Would you like to see your response in the Members' Newspaper next time?
You can find the new statement in the February Members' Newsletter.