Dutch growers destroy millions of unsold Mother’s Day flowers

The arrival of tulips became the latest seasonal tradition to be scrapped yesterday due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

In the height of spring, fields around the Netherlands burst into colour as flowers bloom. But as the pandemic leads to border restrictions, the Dutch flower industry has seen sales plummet. 

Even the Pope will have to do without some of the flower donations to decorate St Peter’s Square in the Vatican at Easter. 

Just days before Mother’s Day, Royal FloraHolland, a co-operative of Dutch growers which trades 12 billion plants and flowers annually, is destroying unsold tulips, roses and chrysanthemums due to the drop in sales. 

At its base in Honselersdijk yesterday, workers threw away mountains of bulbs and flowers after a fraction of the usual amount was traded. 

Last year, the Dutch flower industry’s exports were worth more than six billion euros. 

Flowers are destroyed at FloraHolland Naaldwijk in Honselersdijk on March 20, 2020, as sales of Mothers’ Day flowers drop due to the novel coronavirus 

Some flower farmers are giving away tulips to healthcare workers as a token of appreciation for their work, while others have set up stalls outside their farms to sell flowers at cut prices rather than dump harvests. 

Others say they are simply feeding the bulbs to their cows.