News » 16.10.2026 - NL: Flower and plant market shows resilience in the third quarter
Royal FloraHolland once again demonstrated a stable market in the third quarter of 2026. Although fewer units were traded in flowers, houseplants and garden plants compared with a year ago, positive pricing ensured that revenue remained largely stable. Higher prices compensated for the lower volume, particularly in houseplants and garden plants, whilst the cut-flower market came under pressure due to lower prices in a number of major product groups.
Thomas Bugel, Chief Grower Value Management at RFH, said: "It is good to see that flowers, plants and trees remained in high demand even during the extremely hot summer weather in the past quarter, at a level broadly comparable to last year. Flowers play an important role in bringing people together, whilst greenery in outdoor environments can help to limit 'heat stress' during hot summers. In a challenging market environment, the sector once again demonstrated its resilience this quarter. Entrepreneurship, market focus and added value are becoming increasingly important in this regard."
Looking at the headline figures for Q3 2026, total revenue was unchanged at 0.0%, while units sold fell by 1.0%. The average price for flowers declined by 0.3%, whereas the average price for plants rose by 4.4%. In terms of share of units, 49% were sold through the auction and 51% through direct channels.
Cut flowers were under pressure from the rose market. Product revenues for cut flowers fell by 1.1% in the third quarter. The number of units sold was 0.8 per cent lower than last year, whilst the Average Selling Price (ASP) fell slightly by 0.3 per cent. Developments within the product groups present a mixed picture. The rose market was clearly under pressure: despite a virtually stable volume, product revenues fell by over 13 per cent due to a significantly lower ASP. In contrast, there were positive developments in, amongst others, eustoma, cut hydrangeas, bulb flowers and cut anthuriums, where higher prices drove product revenues. Clock sales fared worse than the market as a whole. At the clock sales, revenue fell by 2.9 per cent, whilst both volume and price were slightly below last year's levels.
Within the top 10 cut flower product groups, rose held the first position, with product revenues down 13.3%, units sold down 0.7% and an average price of €0.22, which was 12.7% lower. Industrial group T chrysanthemum held second place (unchanged), with revenues up 2.6%, units up 0.5% and an average price of €0.35, up 2.1%. Lilium climbed three places to third, with revenues up 0.3%, units down 2.8% and an average price of €0.69, up 3.2%. Hydrangea rose four places to fourth, with revenues up 6.6%, units down 2.6% and an average price of €1.71, up 9.4%. Eustoma russellianum remained in fifth place, with revenues up 5.1%, units up 1.0% and an average price of €0.62, up 4.1%. Gerbera moved up one place to sixth, with revenues up 0.7%, units up 5.1% and an average price of €0.18, down 4.2%. Industrial group G chrysanthemum rose two places to seventh, with revenues down 0.1%, units down 0.6% and an average price of €0.58, up 0.5%. Helianthus jumped thirteen places to eighth, with revenues down 4.9%, units down 1.7% and an average price of €0.35, down 3.2%. Limonium rose one place to ninth, with revenues down 1.1%, units up 14.7% and an average price of €0.24, down 13.8%. Finally, Zantedeschia climbed five places to tenth, with revenues up a striking 41.3%, units up 10.2% and an average price of €0.78, up 28.2%.
Houseplants benefited from strong pricing. The market for houseplants showed a positive trend in product revenues. Despite a 2.0 per cent fall in volume, product revenues grew by 1.7 per cent, thanks to an average price rise of 3.8 per cent. Potted anthuriums, flowering plants, potted roses and chrysanthemums, in particular, achieved growth in product revenues. Potted anthuriums continued to perform strongly, with growth in both volume and price. Kalanchoe also managed to achieve higher product revenues despite lower volumes, thanks to strong pricing following a difficult previous year. At the auction, falling volumes were evident in the vast majority of product groups. The number of plants traded there fell by 14.5 per cent. However, the Average Selling Price rose by almost 12 per cent, which offset a large part of the loss in volume. Nevertheless, this still resulted in a 4.4 per cent decline in turnover at the auction.
In the houseplant top 10, Phalaenopsis stayed in first place, with revenue down 2.1%, units up 0.4% and an average price of €4.15, down 2.5%. Anthurium rose three places to second, with revenue up 5.6%, units up 1.5% and an average price of €3.23, up 4.0%. Rosa fell one place to third, with revenue up 8.7%, units up 1.3% and an average price of €1.11, up 7.4%. Chrysanthemum climbed seven places to fourth, with revenue up 7.0%, units down 1.3% and an average price of €1.11, up 8.3%. Kalanchoe dropped two places to fifth, with revenue up 4.1%, units down 8.8% and an average price of €0.77, up 14.2%. Other houseplants rose one place to sixth, with revenue up 27.0%, units up 26.6% and an average price of €1.98, up 0.3%. Ficus gained three places to seventh, with revenue up 0.4%, units down 6.7% and an average price of €4.59, up 7.6%. Arrangements fell two places to eighth, with revenue up 4.6%, units down 3.6% and an average price of €4.82, up 8.6%. Spathiphyllum held ninth place, with revenue up 2.7%, units down 5.0% and an average price of €1.79, up 8.1%. Other cacti and succulents rose two places to tenth, with revenue down 4.8%, units down 3.9% and an average price of €1.28, down 1.0%.
Garden plants remained stable despite lower volumes. The number of items sold fell by 5.2 per cent. However, due to an average price increase of 6.1 per cent, product revenues were slightly higher than last year, at 0.6 per cent. Tree nursery products once again constituted the largest product group and achieved turnover growth. Within some seasonal groups, however, volume came under pressure, meaning that turnover trends varied significantly from one product group to another. For garden plants, too, the difference between the overall market and clock sales was clearly evident. At the clock sales, volume fell by over 10 per cent, whilst product revenues declined by 5.4 per cent. The higher prices could only partially offset the lower supply.
In the garden plant top 10, Calluna jumped 290 places to first, with revenue up 7.2%, units up 0.4% and an average price of €0.96, up 6.8%. Hydrangea held second place, with revenue up 1.1%, units up 1.9% and an average price of €4.71, down 0.8%. Hebe rose 112 places to third, with revenue up 1.9%, units down 9.6% and an average price of €2.52, up 12.6%. Other perennials stayed in fourth place, with revenue down 4.2%, units up 6.6% and an average price of €1.32, down 10.0%. Lavandula fell four places to fifth, with revenue down 12.4%, units down 24.5% and an average price of €1.44, up 16.0%. Skimmia climbed 253 places to sixth, with revenue up 17.1%, units up 11.7% and an average price of €3.49, up 4.8%. Packages rose ten places to seventh, with revenue up 15.9%, units up 9.3% and an average price of €4.99, up 6.1%. Echinacea gained 36 places to eighth, with revenue up 7.5%, units up 3.5% and an average price of €3.18, up 3.9%. Chrysanthemum (Indicum Group) rose 164 places to ninth, with revenue down 28.1%, units down 24.8% and an average price of €1.22, down 4.4%. Dianthus fell six places to tenth, with revenue down 4.5%, units down 15.8% and an average price of €0.90, up 13.5%.
Note that in the top 10 garden plants, there have been significant shifts compared with Q2. These are mainly due to the season: Calluna (+290), Skimmia (+253) and Chrysanthemum (+164) are typical autumn products that peak in Q3. As a result, they have temporarily moved up the rankings, at the expense of spring and summer products. This is a normal seasonal pattern and not a structural change in the market.
The market continues to seek balance. The third quarter shows that the flowers and plants market continues to adapt to changing market conditions. The market remains willing to pay for distinctive products and quality, meaning that higher prices can offset a significant proportion of the lower volume. Despite a challenging market environment, the sector is thus once again demonstrating its resilience. However, the differences between product groups remain significant, making entrepreneurship, market focus and added value increasingly important.
International supplies are picking up. In the third quarter, international supplies from Kenya and Ethiopia picked up. The number of items sold from these countries was even slightly higher than in the same period last year. Pricing, however, lagged behind, meaning that product revenues remained well below last year's level. National supplies saw revenue rise by 1.0% while units sold fell by 2.6%, whereas international supplies saw revenue fall by 4.7% while units sold rose by 2.0%.
Among the top five countries of origin, Kenya saw product revenues fall by 9.4% while units sold rose by 1.5%. Ethiopia's revenues fell by 2.7% while units rose by 2.4%. Germany's revenues and units sold both fell by 7.2%. Belgium's revenues fell by 2.5% while units sold fell by 7.3%. Israel stood out with revenues up 27.7% and units sold up 3.0%.
Source: www.floraldaily.com
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