The famous tulip sector of the Netherlands has wilted along with the global demand for flowers as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Some Dutch farmers are even wondering if their tulips will survive to see the sun of tomorrow.

Sandra Munster is one of the farmers suffering the hit. With her husband's help, she produces 12 million bulbs and flowers a year. April and May are usually the busiest months. But this spring, 80 percent of her flowers have been destroyed.

"It's a big impact on our business. First of all, because of the price of the cut flowers. It went down hugely in March, all the export went down, so that's a big problem. Next to that, I do guide tours, in my greenhouses and my tulip fields. And tourism is zero. At this moment we think the loss is about 450,000 euros in our company," said Munster.

The Netherlands is the largest flower producer in the world. More than half of its flowers sold come from massive and colorful fields in the west and the north. But since the coronavirus outbreak, flower shops around the world have closed, and sales have plummeted.

Flower distributors in and out of the country have taken the hit as people rein in spending and postpone events amid the pandemic. Royal Flora Holland is the world's biggest flower auction based in the Netherlands. Its sales have dropped by some 50 percent each week from the same period last year in the five weeks leading up to April 17.

"It happened with one blow. Within one or two days there was no demand for flowers anymore. As well as within the boundaries of Europe, but also international, there was no question for flowers anymore, so it collapsed in two or three days," said Jaap Bond, president of Royal Dutch Bulb Growers Association.

Jaap Bond has negotiated an important aid package from the Dutch government. 

"There will be a special fund for our sector, for agriculture. So we're very glad about that. There is 600 million euros in it. And now we have to make sure that companies who are healthy, they don't go broke. So that's the main cause of this fund. We are now at the time, as we speak, making a program that everyone gets his share," Bond illustrated. 

Sudden and brutal 

Looking at the broader picture, COVID-19 has deeply shocked the demand and supply of the global flower industry.

Union Fleurs, otherwise known as the International Flower Trade Association, has over 3,000 companies involved in trading, wholesale and distribution of cut flowers. Its members account for some 80 percent of the global trade in the flower industry.

Sylvie Mamias, secretary-general of Union Fleurs, said the flower industry is being impacted hard because the industry's supply chain is extremely globalized and integrated around the world.

"The flower industry really depends on the efficient and very speedy logistics to bring the flowers from the production places in Europe, Africa and South America to the customers all over the world. So this is really because of this globalization and interdependence of the supply chain that this crisis is having such a big impact on the industry," Mamias added.

She noted that the impact has been very sudden and brutal because spring is the biggest season for flowers, while the pandemic has made both price and export collapse.

"So this led to the destruction of millions of flowers in the production places and huge losses for the supply chain. Since then, what we have seen is actually a massive domino effect around the world," Mamias added.

"It's still difficult to see how long the impact will last. Though we saw slow recovery in some of the key markets, the domino effect is still there, and it's still impacting production."