After the fully booked 'Flowers by Sea' Conference that took place yesterday, the IFTF opened its doors this morning. The three-day exhibition is in its 12th edition, hosting nearly 300 exhibitors from over 25 countries and trade visitors from over 115 countries.
Exhibition floor.
Flower by Sea Conference
The interest in shipping flowers by sea has been increasing for several years now, and for this reason, the organization of the IFTF, HPP Exhibitions, decided to bring to life the 'Flowers by Sea Conference.' After a successful edition during the IFTEX in Nairobi, Kenya, last June, another edition took place yesterday and attracted a large and international audience across the supply chain. Different key players that are currently directly or indirectly involved in the flower industry of Kenya and Colombia have been brought together in a panel and interacted through Q&A's through the participants in the audience.
The panel at the Flowers by Sea Conference.
"It has been a fantastic kick-off to the exhibition week, with massive attendance," says Jeroen van der Hulst of FlowerWatch and one of the panelists when reflecting on the three-hour conference. "All 400 available seats were fully booked, and there were still 200 people on the waiting list. This huge interest shows that the industry sees the potential and that they are eager to explore the opportunities and ready to encounter the challenges. The large and positive feedback has been extremely motivating to us."
Hopes are high, and according to Van der Hulst, the industry is in a very promising startup phase. "Sea freight will definitely get a share in the market. It is not only a more sustainable and lower-cost option, but it also opens up opportunities to reach new markets and ship different types of flowers, some that are usually too light or heavy for air freight."
Entering new markets is one of the huge opportunities for Kenyan growers, he explains "China, Japan, the USA, and Australia, for example, are markets that are currently not being shipped to that much due to the limited space and high airfreight prices, but shipping by sea can make the change."
Even for Colombia, a country that has been supplying flowers by sea for many years with volumes increasing year by year, there is still much to gain as it has the potential to be used by more growers of all kinds of crops. "Chrysanthemum grower El Capiro, for example, is a grower who is successfully shipping large volumes by sea. 90% of their flowers are being shipped by sea, and during the conference, Carlos Uribe said that their 10,000th container will be shipped in January 2023, saving them thousands of airfreights."
The FloralDaily booth at IFTF
Visit the FloralDaily booth at IFTF!
With FloralDaily, we have a booth on the IFTF and look forward to meeting you there. We are also swirling around with our cameras at the show. Come and visit us at our stand (D1.22) to share horticulture news, to get a Buyer's Guide just for a chat, or send an e-mail to make sure your exhibition news gets published.
On Monday, we will publsih our photo report, below a small preview:
John Kowarsky and Amnon Zamir presenting the Cargolite concept, now also available in Ecuador.
Paul Molina and Daniel Gomez of Naranjo roses presenting their exclusive variety Naranjo, bred by DeRuiter and ntroduced at the Expo Flor Ecuador. It is a big headed oranje variet that keeps the color.
Brothers Juan and Alejandro Echiverri of Aromas Farms, a 25ha farm growing hydrangeas. At the show the were presenting several new varieties
For more information:
International Floriculture Trade Fair
www.iftf.nl