Flower auction giant accused of abusing market power to block competition
The Netherlands’ competition watchdog is reviewing multiple formal complaints against Royal FloraHolland, the world’s largest flower and plant auction cooperative, over allegations of structural market abuse that could be limiting competition and locking Dutch growers into its systems.
According to documents reviewed by FD, several parties have submitted complaints to the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM), claiming the cooperative is abusing its dominant position in the ornamental plant and flower market. Critics argue that Royal FloraHolland is excluding competitors by forcing growers to use its payment infrastructure and penalizing those who seek alternatives.
One of the complaints was filed in April by Agri Inter Incasso (Ai2), a payment services company that operates in the floriculture sector on behalf of over a thousand clients. Ai2 alleges that Royal FloraHolland is engaging in “potentially structural abuse of power” by requiring growers — who are nearly all members of the cooperative — to process payments for their ornamental products exclusively through FloraHolland’s platform.
Growers who attempt to settle transactions via alternative payment systems without obtaining prior approval from Royal FloraHolland reportedly face financial penalties. According to Ai2’s complaint, these sanctions can amount to a fine of up to 2.52 percent of the revenue involved in the unauthorized transaction. In addition to this, the cooperative can impose a further 2 percent levy if a grower fails to properly declare revenue earned outside of FloraHolland’s ecosystem.
To enforce these conditions, Ai2 claims that Royal FloraHolland demands full access to the revenue data of its members, enabling the cooperative to verify whether growers are conducting off-platform sales.
Royal FloraHolland operates multiple auction centers in the Netherlands, including a site in Eelde, and plays a central role in the international flower trade. The company has not yet responded publicly to the allegations or to FD's questions regarding the ACM complaints.
