Where to Find the Prettiest Flowers in Rotterdam (and How They Got There!)

Anne Saris, business manager for agrofood and distribution at the Port of Rotterdam talks flowers – both exports and imports. Anne will be a panelist at the Women in Breakbulk Brunch on Tuesday, May 21.

Q: Tell us about the varieties of flowers leaving the port, any special handling and their major destinations. 

We export a lot of bulbs, including tulips, worldwide – roughly 17,000 TEU per year. The Netherlands also exports a lot of fresh cut flowers to countries in Europe, like Germany, UK and France. For the UK, this is mostly done through the Port of Rotterdam by ferry. Fresh cut foilage is being imported from countries like Colombia and Costa Rica.

Q: What's new in the world of flower shipping?

More and more, we also import fresh flowers from e.g. Kenya as the container technology is improving and enabling a longer transit time compared to air transport. The volumes are still small, but there’s a huge potential for this industry, with a lot of CO2 reduction to gain. Promising research is underway at the Wageningen Food & Biobased Research facility that could make Kenya's US$1 billion flower exports far more environmentally friendly by shipping by sea rather than air. 

Q: Where can Breakbulk exhibitors order extraordinary local flowers?

Extraordinary Flower Shops in Rotterdam

	Flower Shop	Address	Hours
	‘s Zomers Bloemen	Boekhorststraat 44-54, 3032 AC	Mon-Sat: 09:00 - 18:00, Sun: 11:00 - 16:00
	Natuurlijk Bloemen	Zaagmolenkade, 3035 KA	Mon-Thur: 9:00 – 17:30, Sat: 10:00 – 17:00
	Yoko Negi	Insulindestraat 76, 3038 JB	Fri-Sat: 11:00 - 18:00
	Niche Flowers	Graaf Florisstraat 23B-1, 3021 CB	Call +31(0)6-81138585

Bonus! Anne recommends a detour to Amsterdam to see the world's largest flower market!

Royal Flora Holland
Legmeerdijk 313
1431 GB Aalsmeer
Monday - Wednesday, Friday: 7:00 am to11:00 am; Thursday from 7:00 am to 9:00 am. 
Buy tickets online: €11.50 for adults