Aalsmeer Flower Auction at FloraHolland. Its not only the auction itself on display, its the work to get the flowers in and out of the warehouse expeditiously. Flowers arrive for bidding in crates on conveyor belts. DSC_0932
Up bright and early Monday morning to catch the Flower Auction action at Aalsmeer. Monday was to be a day trip to Delft and The Hague. But en route to Delft, we first made a stoop at Flora Holland in Aalsmeer. The Flower Auction is a vast trading floor of fresh flowers and plants. Beginning at 7:00 a.m. weekdays, the public can view the action from a catwalk above the flower warehouse floor. And there is a lot of flower power to view.
Flowers grown in The Netherlands and all over the world are traded here. Greenhouses around Aalsmeer ready local flowers. But, flowers are also shipped in from all over the world, with Kenya, Ethiopia, Israel, Belgium and Germany as the top exporters. Once sold, the flowers are shipped out again to buyers all over the world. Top buyers include Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Russia, but they are exported worldwide. Aalsmeers proximity to Schiphol Airport provides convenient access to air freight.
Up on the visitor catwalk, I could see a veritable beehive of activity. Its not only the auction itself on display, its the work to get the flowers in and out of the warehouse expeditiously.
Aalsmeer Flower Auction at FloraHolland. Warehouse floor. As lots are sold at auction, they are dispatched by a swarm of tractors to shipping points. The photos cant convey how fast the tractors travel. Drivers receive their paper or radio orders and are then off to deliver the goods as quickly as possible to a shipping point. I dont see how they avoid crashing into one another! DSC_0947
Flowers arrive in crates on conveyor belts. As lots are sold at auction, they are dispatched by a swarm of tractors to shipping points. The photos cant convey how fast the tractors travel. Drivers receive their paper or radio orders and are then off to deliver the goods as quickly as possible to a shipping point. I dont see how they avoid crashing into one another! Bidders sit in an auditorium style room where they view a large projected board announcing each lot by type, origin, and condition. By its all done for the day.
