The price of a Valentine’s Day bouquet of red roses is some 20% higher this year than in 2021, according to flower auction house Royal FloraHolland.

In total, some 159 million roses and 155 million tulips were sold via the auction house in the run up to February 14, but the number of premium Dutch grown roses fell by over 25%.

High energy prices have forced some growers to switch off their greenhouse heating systems because the price of the flowers is not enough to cover the cost, the auction house said.

Instead, large numbers of roses are imported from Africa. Some 80% of African roses are traded via the Netherlands.

Stefan van Vuuren, commercial director at Dutch flower firm Porta Nova told broadcaster NOS there is a major difference between the Netherlands and countries such as Germany, Austria and Italy when it comes to flowers.

‘A Dutchman will rather buy a cheaper bouquet of tulips while an Italian would rather buy red roses, even if it costs more,’ Van Vuuren said.

Just 5% of the roses grown in the Netherlands are sold to Dutch consumers.