Verenigde Bloemenveilingen Aalsmeer
The Coöperatieve Vereniging "Verenigde Bloemenveilingen Aalsmeer" (VBA) UA ( Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer for short ) was the world's largest auction organization for flowers until the merger with FloraHolland . Sales of the 1975 original of lilac breeders of Aalsmeer barrier island group Westeinderplassen at that time approximately 400,000 m² and established cooperative was organized company in 2006 1.75 billion euros. More than 5 billion flowers and ornamental plants were turned over in Aalsmeer every year (more than 21 million pieces daily, 19 million of which are houseplants ). The approximately 7,000 supplying horticultural companies came mainly from the Netherlands , but also from distant countries such as Kenya , Israel , Zimbabwe , Uganda and Ecuador . The flowers and plants on offer were purchased from over 1000 wholesalers from all over the world (mainly from Germany, the United Kingdom , France , Italy and Belgium ).
The auction site has a covered area of around 86 hectares (including outdoor area 1.9 hectares) and is therefore one of the largest covered trading complexes in the world. More than 1,800 people were employed at Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer.
In September 2007 a merger with the also Dutch auction company FloraHolland (Coöperatieve Bloemenveiling FloraHolland UA) was decided with effect from January 1, 2008, taking over the name FloraHolland.
Coordinates: 52 ° 15 ′ 39.8 ″ N , 4 ° 46 ′ 56 ″ E