Aalsmeer Flower Auction (Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer) is a flower auction, located in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. It is the largest flower auction in the world. The auction building of the flower auction in Aalsmeer is the 4th largest building by floor space in the world, covering 990,000 m² (10.6 million sq ft; 243 acres). Flowers from all over the world (Europe, Ecuador, Colombia, Ethiopia, etc.) are traded on a daily basis at the Aalsmeer facilities. Around 20 million flowers are sold daily with a 15% increase around special days such as Valentine's Day and Mothers day. Their flowers are subjected to around 30 checks so they can be graded on a scale (A1, A2 and B). The auction is set up as a Dutch auction in which the price starts high and works its way down. Bidders get only a few seconds to bid on the flowers before they are shipped off to the new owner's business.