David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security, paid a working visit today to the approach Weerbare Sierteeltsector and Royal FloraHolland. He was received in Aalsmeer and given insight into the daily logistics process. This was followed by an informative discussion about undermining crime, the measures taken and still possible, and the success of partnerships in the floriculture sector.

The purpose of this visit was to provide insight to the minister on the approach against undermining crime in the ornamental horticulture sector. The sector is vulnerable to undermining because criminals take advantage of the well-organized finely-meshed logistics. Our country has several good logistics connections, making it an important gateway to the rest of Europe. This also applies to the floriculture sector where daily international fresh logistics are essential to get products to their destinations.

“The minister himself has indicated that he wants to see what is happening in practice in order to be well informed about undermining in the sector. It is very nice that he pays a lot of attention to this topic and our approach,” says Bas van Delden, program manager of the approach Weerbare Sierteeltsector. “Our sector is one of the largest export sectors in the Netherlands and therefore of great economic importance. But because of its finely woven logistics and open nature, the sector’s distribution network is interesting to criminals. Together with government partners and the business community, we are working on measures to keep the sector safe and keep criminals out as much as possible.”

Minister Van Weel’s visit included a tour of Royal FloraHolland, an important private partner in the approach. Every day a unique logistical process takes place to get over 40 million flowers and plants to the right destination around the world. The various preventive measures taken to prevent criminal interference as much as possible were discussed.

“The floriculture sector is a special Dutch sector. Because of the speed and quantities of flowers and plants traded, this sector is also vulnerable to organized crime,” Minister Van Weel indicated. “I think it is important that entrepreneurs and companies are resilient against criminals, that they know what to do if they are pressured by criminals to cooperate. From the program Weerbare Sierteeltsector we are therefore working with entrepreneurs on their resilience. That is important and that is why we as a cabinet have freed up money for extra police capacity for a number of main ports, including the horticulture sector.”

Pieter Bootsma CEO Royal FloraHolland emphasizes, “We are getting a better and better picture of the vulnerabilities in the sector. By sharing insights and information, we can take action in cooperation between public and private parties and better defend ourselves as a sector.”

After the tour, there was an informative discussion with Mayor Oude Kotte of Aalsmeer, Mayor Heiliegers of Uithoorn Municipality, Pieter Bootsma, CEO of Royal FloraHolland and a delegation from the police and the program team.

“As an approach, we want to make it clear to the sector that we can only tackle undermining together. Talk to each other about it, be alert to things that are not right and report suspicious circumstances. Only by working together can we reduce crime,” indicates program manager Bas van Delden.