The Authority Consumer & Market (ACM) is reviewing Royal FloraHolland's takeover of three logistics service providers. The watchdog wants to prevent any dominance by FloraHolland from having negative effects on the price and quality of ornamental plant transport.
FloraHolland is a cooperative of growers of flowers and plants and also the world's largest auction and trading platform for ornamental horticulture. Growers who are members of FloraHolland sell their products through the cooperative. FloraHolland takes care of the financial and, if necessary, logistical handling at its auction sites.
Joint venture Floriway
The organisation now also wants to provide transport for growers. Last year, it announced the acquisition of De Winter Logistics, Van Zaal Transport and Wematrans. The companies' joint activities will be bundled into a joint venture called Floriway. With Floriway, FloraHolland and the logistics service providers want to ensure smarter (bundled) transport between growers, marketplace and buyers.
ACM: ‘Further investigation required’
ACM announced on Monday that further investigation is needed into the takeover of the three floriculture transport companies. If it transpires that FloraHolland holds a dominant position in the trade in floriculture products, it could use this position to favour Floriway and exclude competing floriculture transport operators from the market. ACM: “This could have negative consequences for the price, quality and innovation in the transport of flowers and plants. One of the questions here is whether the possibility of direct trade without the intervention of RFH or similar trading platforms exerts sufficient competitive pressure on RFH.”
