Abstract
The purpose of this study is to summarize the background of changes in transactions in the wholesale flower market, and to clarify the process of transaction reform and its effects and impacts, mainly using Osaka Tsurumi wholesale flower market as a case study. In wholesale flower markets, mechanical auction was introduced mainly in large markets that were developed after 1990, but as demand for pre-auction trading increased, web sales were introduced, and in many places, this has now become the mainstream of transactions. In addition, an increasing number of wholesale markets are introducing home-participation auction and image auction as options. Osaka Tsurumi wholesale flower market has taken the opportunity of the COVID-19 disaster to shift entirely to home-participation auctions and image auctions, as well as to shift from the morning market to an evening market. These trading reforms have proven to have a number of benefits for the market, including reducing the workload of wholesalers, expanding the trading area of wholesalers and middlemen, reducing the purchasing burden on trading participants, reducing the deterioration of the quality of flowers in the wholesale market, and reducing the cost of renovating the auction system. On the other hand, the expansion of web sales and home-participation auctions will not only reduce the volume handled by middlemen, but also likely further widen the gap between wholesale markets.
