Sale of horticultural products still permitted in Germany and the Netherlands

17 March 2020

On Monday 16 March 2020, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, gave a press conference and Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, held a speech on the topic of the Coronavirus. Veiling Rhein-Maas interprets the official announcement as follows: All retail and wholesale businesses engaged in the sale of horticultural products can remain open in Germany and the Netherlands. We also take this information from today's press conference of the NRW state government concerning the current situation and the implementation of measures in North Rhine-Westphalia. We also take this information from today's press conference of the NRW state government concerning the current situation and the implementation of measures in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Below you can find the relevant extract from the press release:

I. Explicitly NOT closed are the retail trade for food, weekly markets, pick-up and delivery services, beverage markets, pharmacies, medical supply stores, drugstores, petrol stations, banks, post offices, hairdressers, dry cleaners, laundries, newspaper sales, construction, horticultural and pet supplies markets as well as wholesale. Instead, the ban of Sunday sales should be suspended in principle until further notice in these sectors. The above named facilities will be opened under conditions of hygiene, access control and avoidance of any queues. Service providers and craftsmen can continue to carry out their activities. All health care facilities will remain open in compliance with the increased hygiene requirements.

Click here for the full press release from16 March 2020.

The above stated extract means that Veiling Rhein-Maas can and will offer the beautiful flowers and plants of its suppliers via auction clock, Clock Service and Webshop until further notice.
Nonetheless, we are forced to adapt our services and processes in accordance with our commitment to have fewer employees on site in Straelen-Herongen.

Adjustment for Clock pre sales
In view of the current uncertain market and sales situation, Veiling Rhein-Maas has decided to extend the reservation option at Clock pre sales. For suppliers who offer their products via Clock pre sales there will be no changes in the practical implementation.  With the extention, customers have the possibility to reserve a larger part of their demand in advance. We are increasing the possible reservation at cut flowers up to 50%. In terms of potted plants, the reservation will be extended to 50% at single and large lots and to 75% at sample lots. We hope that this measure will contribute to a possible stabilisation of the market. Please take advantage of this opportunity as a supplier or customer of the auction. If you have any questions or need further help, please contact Christina Sell or Dagmar van de Locht.

Information for customers on site
In order to protect your and our employees' safety, we have made some changes to the processes at our cash desk until further notice:

  • No issue of invoices and loading lists at the cash desk
    You can receive your invoice by e-mail or post. To receive it by e-mail, please inform our employees at the cash desk about the desired e-mail address whilst also stating your customer number. We will usually send you your invoice at about 12:15 pm via e-mail. If you need the invoice earlier, please contact the cash desk by phone. You can print your loading list by yourself at the terminals in the auction room.
     
  • Headsets and shopping cards for rent no longer be issued for hygienic reasons
    If you have forgotten your headset or shopping card, you can still purchase a new headset (€ 40.00) or a new shopping card (€ 10.00).

Furthermore, we kindly ask you to keep at least 1.5 meters distance from our employees.

Important supply information
We kindly inform all suppliers of the marketplace that delivering to hall I is not possible at the moment as the hall is needed for other logistical processes. Please strictly adhere to the current supply times and support our employees in carrying out the adapted processes.

Latest news
We will inform you on our website about the latest developments and measures concerning the Coronavirus. We thank you in advance for your understanding for the described measures and all measures that might follow.